§ 60-4120 Statute of limitations.

Here's a plain English summary of this rule:

If the government wants to take property because it was involved in a crime (this is called civil forfeiture), they have a time limit to file that case in court. They must start the case within five years from either the last illegal act connected to the property, or from when someone found out (or should have found out) about the grounds for taking the property.

The five-year clock does not always run without stopping. If the property or the person involved leaves the state, that time does not count toward the five years. The same goes for time when the property or person is locked up. If there is a related criminal case still going on about the same conduct, that time is also paused and does not count against the five-year limit.

This rule matters because it protects people from having forfeiture cases hang over them forever. It also gives the government a fair chance to act, even if the property or person was hard to reach for a while. If the government waits too long past the five years, and none of these pauses apply, they may lose the right to take the property through this process.