There is no Stephen Lara settlement. The retired Marine has not received any settlement or damages payment from the Nevada Highway Patrol or the DEA over the 2021 traffic-stop seizure of his life savings. He did get his $86,900 back in September 2021, one day after the Institute for Justice filed a federal lawsuit on his behalf.1Institute for Justice. IJ Win Closes Civil Forfeiture Loophole in Nevada Beyond that return, nothing has been paid. His separate claims for constitutional damages remain pending in Nevada state court, and the state’s appeal of a January 2025 ruling in his favor is now before the Nevada Supreme Court.
What Lara Has Received So Far
Just the original cash. For seven months after Nevada troopers handed his money to the DEA through the federal equitable sharing program, Lara heard nothing about it.1Institute for Justice. IJ Win Closes Civil Forfeiture Loophole in Nevada The Institute for Justice sued the DEA in September 2021, arguing the agency had blown the 90-day window under the Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Act of 2000 to either return the money or start formal proceedings.2Institute for Justice. Nevada Civil Forfeiture The money came back the next day.
Wesley Hottot, the IJ senior attorney on the case, said the return happened “only after” the lawsuits were filed and the story drew national press.3Las Vegas Review-Journal. Nevada Troopers Took Nearly $87K From a Retired Marine During a Traffic Stop The federal case then closed. No damages, no interest on the seven-month hold, no attorneys’ fees award has been reported.
Why He Was Stopped and What Was Taken
On February 19, 2021, a Nevada Highway Patrol trooper pulled Lara over on Interstate 80 near Sparks for allegedly following a tanker truck too closely.4Forbes. Retired Marine Scores Legal Victory as Judge Blocks Nevada Law Enforcement From Using Federal Loophole He was driving to California to see his daughters and carrying his life savings, along with documentation showing the cash came from paychecks and veterans benefits.1Institute for Justice. IJ Win Closes Civil Forfeiture Loophole in Nevada The trooper later acknowledged the stop’s real purpose was to look for drugs, weapons, and currency.5The Washington Post. Nevada Highway Patrol, DEA Sued Over Seizing Stephen Laras Money
Officers held Lara for more than an hour. The initial trooper concluded Lara’s account “lines up,” but a colleague called the situation “too easy” and pushed to seize the cash through federal equitable sharing “adoption.”6Cato Institute. Nevada v. Lara Lara was never arrested, never charged, and never issued a citation.4Forbes. Retired Marine Scores Legal Victory as Judge Blocks Nevada Law Enforcement From Using Federal Loophole
The Highway Patrol handed the $86,900 to the DEA under the federal equitable sharing program, which lets the federal government keep about 20 percent and returns up to 80 percent to the referring state or local agency, bypassing Nevada’s own forfeiture protections.6Cato Institute. Nevada v. Lara
The January 2025 Ruling Against the Highway Patrol
Alongside the federal case, IJ filed a state suit in the Second Judicial District Court, Washoe County (Case No. CV21-01595), on Lara’s behalf. It carries two sets of claims: one asking the court to declare the Highway Patrol had no authority to participate in equitable sharing at all, and one seeking damages for violations of the Nevada Constitution, including unreasonable seizure, excessive fines, and due process.2Institute for Justice. Nevada Civil Forfeiture
On January 10, 2025, Judge Connie Steinheimer issued a 19-page ruling granting Lara partial judgment on the first claim.4Forbes. Retired Marine Scores Legal Victory as Judge Blocks Nevada Law Enforcement From Using Federal Loophole She found that Nevada’s forfeiture statutes under NRS Chapter 179 are a “comprehensive and facially exclusive” system with no provision letting state officers hand cases to federal agencies.7Institute for Justice. Order Granting Plaintiffs Motion for Partial Judgment on the Pleadings Without “a clear dictate from the Nevada Legislature,” she wrote, state agencies cannot “undermine this bedrock policy and effectively circumvent Nevada’s civil asset forfeiture statutes by electing to participate in the federal equitable sharing program.”8Reason. Nevada Judge to Nevada Cops: You Can’t Use This Loophole to Get Around Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform
The ruling was the first time a Nevada court had addressed police participation in equitable sharing.8Reason. Nevada Judge to Nevada Cops: You Can’t Use This Loophole to Get Around Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform The judge issued an injunction barring the Highway Patrol from continuing to use the program unless it comes into full compliance with Nevada’s forfeiture requirements.1Institute for Justice. IJ Win Closes Civil Forfeiture Loophole in Nevada
That ruling did not award Lara any money. It resolved the legal-authority question and set up the damages question that follows.
The Nevada Supreme Court Appeal
The state appealed. The case is docketed at the Nevada Supreme Court as Nevada Department of Public Safety v. Lara, No. 90943.9ACLU of Nevada. Nevada Department of Public Safety v. Lara Amicus6Cato Institute. Nevada v. Lara
The Damages Claims Still Pending
Lara’s constitutional damages claims are still alive in the trial court.1Institute for Justice. IJ Win Closes Civil Forfeiture Loophole in Nevada These are the claims that could produce an actual money judgment against the state. No trial date has been set, and no settlement has been announced.10This is Reno. Judge Rules Nevada Highway Patrol Participation in Civil Asset Forfeiture Program Unlawful
What makes the damages claims viable is a separate Nevada Supreme Court ruling. Lara’s state case was paused in January 2022 while the court decided Mack v. Williams.7Institute for Justice. Order Granting Plaintiffs Motion for Partial Judgment on the Pleadings In December 2022, the court held that people can sue state officials for monetary damages when their right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure under the Nevada Constitution is violated, and that qualified immunity does not apply to those claims.11Institute for Justice. Big Win for Accountability at Nevada Supreme Court The court found Article 1, Section 18 of the Nevada Constitution “self-executing,” creating an implied right to sue for damages without further legislation.12Nevada Supreme Court. Mack v. Williams, 138 Nev. 854
With that ruling in place, the stay on Lara’s case was lifted in January 2023, and the Highway Patrol’s motion to dismiss was denied.7Institute for Justice. Order Granting Plaintiffs Motion for Partial Judgment on the Pleadings If Lara prevails on those constitutional claims, a damages award would be the first financial recovery beyond the return of his original savings.
What to Watch Next
Two decisions will determine whether “Stephen Lara settlement” ever becomes an accurate phrase. The first is the Nevada Supreme Court’s ruling on the state’s appeal in No. 90943, which will decide whether the injunction against equitable sharing stands. The second is the trial court’s handling of the damages claims once the appellate question resolves. Until then, the only money that has changed hands is the $86,900 the DEA returned in September 2021.