904 F. 2d 46 - Tarnopol v. United States

Nat Tarnopol appeals the decision of the United States Claims Court dismissing his Tucker Act claim because he failed to file his claim within the statute of limitations. Tarnopol v. United States, 18 Cl.Ct. 89 (1989). We affirm for the reasons stated in the Claims Court's opinion. Tarnopol has not provided any support for his proposition that he was not entitled to the return of the subpoenaed documents upon the termination of the criminal proceedings, and thus the Claims Court correctly concluded that the statute of limitations began to run at that time. Much of the statutory and case law cited by Tarnopol addresses whether the government may disclose grand jury materials to government attorneys for civil action purposes, an issue not presented here. Regardless of whether his financial records subpoenaed by a grand jury could be lawfully disclosed to the IRS without a Rule 6(e) order, Tarnopol was entitled to the return of the documents once the criminal proceedings were terminated. That was in 1977, yet he waited to file his claim until 1987, well beyond the six year statute of limitations.