In an opinion that questioned whether a member of a criminal conspiracy could be held jointly and severally liable, along with a co-conspirator, for forfeiture money judgments in the amount of the conspiracy profits, even if those profits were received solely by the co-conspirator, the U.S. Supreme Court cited Restatement of the Law Second, Torts 2d § 875.
In the case, Honeycutt v. United States, the defendant, one of two brothers convicted of a drug-related conspiracy, was ordered to forfeit the amount of the profits obtained from the conspiracy, pursuant to 21 U.S.C. § 853(a)(1), even though his brother’s company received all of the money.
The Court held:
Forfeiture pursuant to §853(a)(1) is limited to property the defendant himself actually acquired as the result of the crime. In this case, the Government has conceded that Terry Honeycutt had no ownership interest in his brother’s store and did not personally benefit from the Polar Pure sales. App. to Pet. for Cert. 60a. The District Court agreed. Id., at 40a. Because Honeycutt never obtained tainted property as a result of the crime, §853 does not require any forfeiture. Citing the Restatement:
A creature of tort law, joint and several liability “applies when there has been a judgment against multiple defendants.” McDermott, Inc. v. AmClyde, 511 U. S. 202, 220– 221 (1994). If two or more defendants jointly cause harm, each defendant is held liable for the entire amount of the harm; provided, however, that the plaintiff recover only once for the full amount. See Restatement (Second) of Torts §875 (1977). Application of that principle in the forfeiture context when two or more defendants conspire to violate the law would require that each defendant be held liable for a forfeiture judgment based not only on property that he used in or acquired because of the crime, but also on property obtained by his co-conspirator.
Providing an example to illustrate:
An example is instructive. Suppose a farmer masterminds a scheme to grow, harvest, and distribute marijuana on local college campuses. The mastermind recruits a college student to deliver packages and pays the student $300 each month from the distribution proceeds for his services. In one year, the mastermind earns $3 million. The student, meanwhile, earns $3,600. If joint and several liability applied, the student would face a forfeiture judgment for the entire amount of the conspiracy’s proceeds: $3 million. The student would be bound by that judgment even though he never personally acquired any proceeds beyond the $3,600. This case requires determination whether this form of liability is permitted under §853(a)(1). The Court holds that it is not.