Maraziti

FACTS

Richard J. Maraziti and Robert T. Thorpe 2 , both veterinarians, were friends and business associates. On December 17, 1986, as part of a business transaction, Thorpe required Maraziti to deliver $500,000 in cashier’s checks, payable to Thorpe, to First Interstate Bank where they could be “verified.” However, unbeknownst to Mar-aziti, Thorpe had arranged for IRS agents to be at the bank, where the- cheeks were cashed and $353,327.76 was seized to pay Thorpe’s unpaid taxes. The balance of the money was retained by Thorpe, who, along with the IRS agents, exited the bank by a back door while Maraziti was left waiting in the lobby.

On April 3, 1989, Maraziti asserted a wrongful levy claim against the United States for the seizure of the $353,000. After an evidentiary hearing, the district court found it lacked subject matter jurisdiction because Maraziti’s claim was filed well beyond the nine-month limitations period set forth in 26 U.S.C. § 6532 (c)(1). Additionally, the court found that Maraziti did not file an administrative request for return of property, pursuant to section 6532(e)(2), so the limitations period was not extended. 3 The district court, therefore,…