if someone has a gun sent to an ffl for transfer and in the meantime the buyer has a court case that make him now illegal to transfer weapon,  how long does the ffl have to hold on to the gun before he can dispose of it?

It's not the FFL's to dispose of, at all. Ask the legal owner what they want to do with it. Hopefully the FFL already has a policy in place, for storage fees or the like in the event a transferee becomes ineligible or never shows, so that it eventually escheats to the shop owner if the legal owner just abandons it. Otherwise, the FFL's state's abandoned properly laws will have to be followed.

Some common policies are to offer to return it from whence it came, offer it for consignment sale, or abandon it to local PD.

The FFL sends the firearm back to the seller, they cannot dispose of it.  Many FFLs already have a process in pl;ace. something like "If the transfer does not take place within 30 days, the firearm is returned to the sender.  Shipping and handling fees may be charged."

Jeff

Nonsense. You aren't a licensed dealer are you?
How in the heck do you come to the conclusion that the seller/sender wants the firearm returned?
The SALE is completed and the seller is under no obligation to refund the sales price. If Johnny Felon buys a gun from Billy Bob Arfcommer on the EE and then discovers he can't legally acquire a firearm, Billy Bob Arfcommer is under no obligation to take it back. And they shouldn't. Stupid should be expensive.

As far as "they cannot dispose of it"...........horsehockey. The receiving dealer gets to decide how he disposes of any firearm. He can sell it on consignment, auction it, sell to another customer.......anything he wants. He just cannot transfer it to a prohibited person or to someone he suspects is attempting a straw purchase.

The dealer who received the gun can sell (dispose of) the gun and remit the proceeds to the prohibited buyer. While its better to have a written and published policy in place beforehand, it isn't required. State laws do cover "abandoned property".....but this situation isn't the same. The buyer OWNS the firearm, but cannot take legal possession. He and the dealer will have to come to an agreement as to the disposition and associated costs.

I have a holding policy in my shop. There is a cost each month after 30 days to hold a gun. I have two firearms sitting in the safe and I contact the persons quarterly and inquire if the situation has been worked out and remind them that each month they do not pick them up they are charged a fee for storage. At the year mark I send a certified letter stating that without response their item will be sold and the fees deducted from the sale price and we will remit them a check for the remainder if there is any.

Usually the guns that someone cannot pickup have little value.

The part in bold needs to be in place before advertising that you do transfers.

Here's our policy, feel free to use/alter as needed for your business...

If the FBI NICS denies the transfer, the buyer has several choices:
- We will hold the firearm while the buyer appeals the denial. If the buyer files the appeal within 30 days of the denial, no storage fees will accrue as we will not penalize buyers for the government's delays. If the buyer does not file the appeal within 30 days we will charge a storage fee of $10 (ten dollars) per week to store the firearm. Once the storage fees have exceeded 50% of the firearm's value we will sell the firearm, deduct our storage fees, and return the remainder to the buyer.
- Arrange with the seller for the return of the firearm and pay us for return shipping.
- Consign the firearm with us.

looks like you have all the bases covered
i may have to update my policy with yours

culd myself as an FFL purchase the firearms? i would think so

Yes, assuming you and the denied transferee agree on a price.