Defenders are Returned

[PorscheGAL]

The Federal Govt has agreed to return the Defenders they seized a few months ago to their owners. I'm just glad they didn't crush them like that poor mini. Question that comes to mind is why British cars got so much attention from the feds?

Feds To Return Trucks Seized In Armed Raids To Their Owners

Some stellar news today for fans of classic Land Rover Defenders, imported vehicles and anyone who’s not a fan of civil forfeiture: Nearly a year after they were seized by federal agents in pre-dawn raids across the country, and a few months after our big exposé on the seizures, more than two dozen imported Defenders will be returned to their owners after the government agreed to drop their case.

North Carolina attorney Will Hedrick, who led the federal courtroom fight to get the seized Defenders back to their owners pro bono, told Jalopnik that the case was settled in arbitration proceedings on Monday.

The government has agreed to return all of the seized Defenders to their owners, at no cost to them, within 30 days, Hedrick said. Officials also agreed not to pursue the vehicles in the future.

“I’m feeling pretty great about things,” said Hedrick, himself a Defender enthusiast who quit his lawyer job to focus on this case full time in recent months. “It’s just a huge relief for my clients. They thought they were never going to see those trucks again.”

It’s unquestionably a huge win for one lawyer waging a David vs. Goliath fight against the Department of Homeland Security, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and federal prosecutors. They argued that the imported Defenders in this case were not at least 25 years old, making them eligible to be brought into the country, and thus subject to seizure under civil forfeiture laws.

Some 85 percent of civil forfeiture cases go uncontested, Hedrick said, sometimes because the seized assets were used in the commission of crimes and sometimes because people don’t have the means to fight it out in court.

But Hedrick argued — successfully, now — that the government had no proof these vehicles weren’t of legal age. He also showed that even if they somehow weren’t in compliance when they were imported, they are at least 26 or 27 years old now.

“The government, in my opinion, really didn’t have a case,” Hedrick said. “The information on their warrant was not accurate. They pursued this on false grounds.”

All the trucks in this case were imported by one man, North Carolina chiropractor Aaron Richardet, but he was never charged with a crime. The status of his case — if there is one — is unknown. “If they did pursue criminal charges, I think that they would have an extremely difficult case to prove,” said Hedrick, who is not representing Richardet.

Had he not succeeded in arbitration, Hedrick said he would have taken the case back to court, where it could have dragged on for several more months, if not longer. He also said he planned to appeal if he did not prevail there.

Jennifer Brinkley, another North Carolina owner and longtime Defender enthusiast whose vehicle was seized by body armor-clad Homeland Security agents last year, said she was ecstatic over the outcome. At the same time, she remains perplexed why the trucks were seized in such an aggressive fashion and with such shaky evidence to begin with.

“We’re still scratching our heads a bit,” Brinkley said. “I hate the waste of taxpayer money and people’s time.”

Nonetheless, she can’t wait to get her truck back — all thanks to the efforts of one attorney who never even asked for compensation. “Without Will Hedrick, none of this would have happened,” she said.

As for Hedrick, the only payment he’s asking for from his owners is a photograph of them next to their Defenders once they get them back.

“I feel like justice prevailed here,” Brinkley said. “It’s a great thing.”



Here is the original story:
Why Are The Feds Obsessed With Seizing These People's Old Trucks?

[widebody911]

My question is why did this action call for armed SWAT raids?

[sammyg2]

But the owners can still crush them if they want, right?

[Porsche-O-Phile]

Wow - hadn't even heard about this. Here's the original article explaining the "logic" behind the seizures. Simply crazy protectionism / crony capitalism. Just wow.

Why Are The Feds Obsessed With Seizing These People's Old Trucks?

[widebody911]

4th Amendment? Bwhahahahahahahaha! That's cute!

[VincentVega]

Thanks for the link, news to me too.

I cant believe so much effort was put into something like this. Thankfully nothing more important is going on.

[widebody911]

They don't want them to fall into the hands of ISIS

[johnsjmc]

Canada has had something similar for years. We can,t import a vehicle less than 15 years old without it going through the RIV program Riv basically determines what needs to be added or altered to bring the imported vehicle into compliance with Canadian transport laws. typically add daytime running lights and a child seat anchor point .
Some of the big manufacturers are trying to discourage imports BMW tells RIV all the dash instruments need to be changed to metric on a US spec MINI .And Porsche and MB require the alterations and inspections to be done in their dealerships to comply.
If newer than 15 yrs it has to be a model also for sale in Canada. We can,t import a Pontiac GTO but can import the virtually identical Cadillac CTSv.
Older than 15 yrs it becomes much easier,but still required.
I agree with the intention of the laws to keep old unsafe grey market cars out and recognize altered VINs is a crime BUT the SWAT team stuff is crazy.

[PorscheGAL]

The interesting part of the story is that they government could not prove the VINS were altered which is why the cars are being returned.

I wonder if they will ever find out why these particular vehicles were targeted by the feds.

[kach22i]

Reviving this couple month old thread, because I recently read about the seizures, but not about the returns.

I bet that chiropractor (or was it dentist?) in North Carolina caught with a dozen Defenders on his property still has legal problems. He is somehow involved with some importation, not sure if it's direct from the UK or if through Canada.

The Defender's have crazy prices on them, but some of the older Series 2 and Series 3's are reasonable by comparison.

Would it be insane to use a 30 year old Rover as a daily winter driver?

Just asking, the concept is appealing but I suspect the reality is somewhat more bitter.

EDIT: This is interesting, had not read this part before.

8/1/2014
http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/44/4476.asp

Department of Homeland Security Special Agent Christopher M. Feldman said that he inspected the "non compliant" vehicles and found discrepancies in the Land Rovers imported by Patterson Auto Sales. He presented his findings to the court.

"The chassis was galvanized and Land Rover has not manufactured Defender vehicles with a galvanized chassis," Feldman claimed. "The engine was a 2.5 TDi 5 cylinder (Storm) engine, manufactured from 1997 to 2007, which cannot be retrofitted into a 1986 Defender Station wagon chassis; the vehicle color does not match the original Venetian red; a number of interior and exterior features were not introduced into production until significantly later model years."

Richardet, the importer, had explained the discrepancies to the Customs and Border Patrol agency in an email two years ago.

"The truck was taken down to the frame," Richardet wrote. "It was sand blasted then galvanized to prevent rust. The doors are prone to rust are scrapped and swapped out for newer ones. The old dashes have been out of production since 2004 so the newer dash is used if the old one is bad. The restoration shops try to make modifications and upgrades to the trucks to make them safer and more user friendly. Just like restoring an old Camaro, old parts get junked and newer [ones] go on. I hope he will see that. All those parts are available from Land Rover and the truck has changed so little you can bolt them right on."

I added a passenger side mirror to my 1977 911 last year, wonder if the fed's will be all over me for making it look more like a later model?