APPEAL
FROM THE MONROE COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT [NO. 48CV-18-25],
HONORABLE CHRISTOPHER W. MORLEDGE, JUDGE
Willard
Proctor, Jr., P.A., by: Willard Proctor, Jr., Little Rock,
for appellant.
Leslie
Rutledge, Atty Gen., by: Rachel Kemp, Asst Atty Gen., for
appellee.
OPINION
DAVID
M. GLOVER, Judge
Juan
Cruz appeals the Monroe County Circuit Courts order granting
the States petition for forfeiture of $ 65,850, arguing the
circuit court erred in granting the petition prior to the
expiration of his time to respond. We agree with Cruzs
argument and, therefore, we reverse and remand.
Page 28
On
April 8, 2015, at approximately 5:30 p.m., Arkansas State
Police (ASP) initiated an investigation of the report of a
gunshot fired at a tractor trailer on Interstate 40 by a
Hispanic driver in a Suburban with Texas plates. Cruz was
driving the Suburban when ASP made the stop; he told ASP
there was no gun in the vehicle. However, a loaded gun was
found in the vehicle together with a duffel bag containing $
64,950; $ 900 in the center console; an odor of marijuana and
a small amount of marijuana in a cup on the rear floorboard
in front of the seats; and marijuana residue in several shoe
boxes. Cruz stated the money belonged to him, but he was only
a "small player" in the game.
On
February 26, 2018, the State filed a notice of seizure and
intent to forfeit as to the $ 65,850 seized on April 8, 2015.
This notice was personally served on Cruz on March 2, 2018,
at the Monroe County jail, where he was being held. At 1:10
p.m. on April 10, an order of forfeiture was entered
forfeiting the $ 65,850 and depositing it in the Monroe
County Drug Control Fund.
At
3:30 p.m. on April 10, approximately two hours after the
order was entered, Cruz filed a motion to dismiss the
forfeiture petition due to untimely filing. In its response
to the motion to dismiss, the State argued there was good
cause to delay the filing of the petition for forfeiture
because the currency was potential evidence in a connected
criminal case not disposed of until January 29, 2018;
however, the State further acknowledged Cruz was not
convicted of a drug crime and had no drug charges pending. On
April 24, the State filed a motion to strike as untimely
Cruzs motion to dismiss; Cruz argued his motion was timely.
The circuit court did not rule on Cruzs motion to dismiss.
On May
2, Cruz filed a motion to set aside the order of forfeiture.
He asserted that since the forfeiture petition was filed on
February 26, 2018, and he was served in the Monroe County
jail on March 2, he then had until May 1 to file his answer
as he was incarcerated when he was served and therefore, the
order of forfeiture should be set aside, and the circuit
court should address his motion to dismiss. The circuit court
did not rule on Cruzs motion to set aside, and he timely
appealed the order of forfeiture.
Rule
12(a)(1) of the Arkansas Rules of Civil Procedure provides,
in pertinent part:
A defendant shall file his or her answer within 30 days
after the service of summons and complaint upon him or her.
A defendant served under Rule 4(f) shall file an answer
within 30 days from the date of first publication of the
warning order. A defendant incarcerated in any jail,
penitentiary, or other correctional facility in this state,
however, shall file an answer within 60 days after
service.
(Emphasis added.)
We
construe court rules using the same principles and canons of
construction used to interpret our statutes. Jones v.
State,2018 Ark.App. 211, 2018 WL 1514952. When
reviewing issues of statutory interpretation, the first rule
in considering the meaning and effect of a statute is to
construe it just as it reads, giving words their ordinary and
usually accepted meaning in common language. Rylwell,
L.L.C. v. Arkansas Dev. Fin. Auth.,372 Ark. 32, 269
S.W.3d 797 (2007). ...