Charles Gilbert, Jr. v. Gary Bangs, 481 F. App'x 52

Gilbert petitioned for a federal firearms license in his personal capacity after American Arms International's (AAI) license was revoked.
AAI’s license was revoked in 2005 following inspections revealing numerous GCA violations; Gilbert was the owner and chief responsible person.
ATF denied Gilbert’s license application on June 23, 2009, based on willful GCA violations tied to AAI and Gilbert’s conduct (including straw applications and post-revocation activity).
District court granted ATF summary judgment, finding substantial evidence of hundreds of willful violations that justified denial.
Gilbert argued that the five-year statute of limitations in 28 U.S.C. § 2462 barred consideration of acts before 2003, and contested specific post-2003 acts and misrepresentations.
District court and court of appeals treated the § 2462 issue as inapplicable to bar ATF’s consideration of older acts and affirmed summary judgment for ATF.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Does 28 U.S.C. § 2462 bar consideration of pre-2003 acts?	Gilbert: § 2462 bars consideration of acts more than five years old.	ATF: § 2462 does not apply; denial is not a civil penalty enforcement.	Section 2462 does not bar consideration.
Is ATF entitled to denial based on a single willful violation?	Gilbert contests various acts and argues not all were willful.	ATF: a single willful violation suffices to justify denial.	ATF denial sustained based on a single willful violation.

Appalachian Res. Dev. Corp. v. McCabe, 387 F.3d 461 (6th Cir. 2004) (single willful violation suffices to deny license)