(Carson City, NV)  –  A man will have a chance to prove he’s the legal owner of nearly one-million dollars seized from his rental car.

Michael Simard, who holds a Canadian drivers license, was stopped for speeding on I-15 when he was pulled over in 2008.  A trooper searched the car and found more than $999,000 bundled in the trunk.

The money was seized, and authorities claimed Simard was involved in drug smuggling.

Simard maintains he’s the rightful owner.

The “Las Vegas Sun” says a federal appeals panel sent the case back to a lower court to decide the matter.