50 U.S.C. § 4309 — Claims to property transferred to custodian; notice of claim; filing; return of property; suits to recover; sale of claimed property in time of war or during national emergency

**(a) In general** Any person not an enemy or ally of enemy claiming any interest, right, or title in any money or other property which may have been conveyed, transferred, assigned, delivered, or paid to the Alien Property Custodian or seized by him hereunder and held by him or by the Treasurer of the United States, or to whom any debt may be owing from an enemy or ally of enemy whose property or any part thereof shall have been conveyed, transferred, assigned, delivered, or paid to the Alien Property Custodian or seized by him hereunder and held by him or by the Treasurer of the United States may file with the said custodian a notice of his claim under oath and in such form and containing such particulars as the said custodian shall require; and the President, if application is made therefor by the claimant, may order the payment, conveyance, transfer, assignment, or delivery to said claimant of the money or other property so held by the Alien Property Custodian or by the Treasurer of the United States, or of the interest therein to which the President shall determine said claimant is entitled: Provided, That no such order by the President shall bar any person from the prosecution of any suit at law or in equity against the claimant to establish any right, title, or interest which he may have in such money or other property. If the President shall not so order within sixty days after the filing of such application or if the claimant shall have filed the notice as above required and shall have made no application to the President, said claimant may institute a suit in equity in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia or in the district court of the United States for the district in which such claimant resides, or, if a corporation, where it has its principal place of business (to which suit the Alien Property Custodian or the Treasurer of the United States, as the case may be, shall be made a party defendant), to establish the interest, right, title, or debt so claimed, and if so established the court shall order the payment, conveyance, transfer, assignment, or delivery to said claimant of the money or other property so held by the Alien Property Custodian or by the Treasurer of the United States or the interest therein to which the court shall determine said claimant is entitled. If suit shall be so instituted, then such money or property shall be retained in the custody of the Alien Property Custodian, or in the Treasury of the United States, as provided in this chapter, and until any final judgment or decree which shall be entered in favor of the claimant shall be fully satisfied by payment or conveyance, transfer, assignment, or delivery by the defendant, or by the Alien Property Custodian, or Treasurer of the United States on order of the court, or until final judgment or decree shall be entered against the claimant or suit otherwise terminated: Provided further, That upon a determination made by the President, in time of war or during any national emergency declared by the President, that the interest and welfare of the United States require the sale of any property or interest or any part thereof claimed in any suit filed under this subsection and pending on or after October 22, 1962, the Alien Property Custodian or any successor officer, or agency may sell such property or interest or part thereof, in conformity with law applicable to sales of property by him, at any time prior to the entry of final judgment in such suit. No such sale shall be made until thirty days have passed after the publication of notice in the Federal Register of the intention to sell. The net proceeds of any such sale shall be deposited in a special account established in the Treasury, and shall be held in trust by the Secretary of the Treasury pending the entry of final judgment in such suit. Any recovery of any claimant in any such suit in respect of the property or interest or part thereof so sold shall be satisfied from the net proceeds of such sale unless such claimant, within sixty days after receipt of notice of the amount of net proceeds of sale serves upon the Alien Property Custodian, or any successor officer or agency, and files with the court an election to waive all claims to the net proceeds, or any part thereof, and to claim just compensation instead. If the court finds that the claimant has established an interest, right, or title in any property in respect of which such an election has been served and filed, it shall proceed to determine the amount which will constitute just compensation for such interest, right, or title, and shall order payment to the claimant of the amount so determined. An order for the payment of just compensation hereunder shall be a judgment against the United States and shall be payable first from the net proceeds of the sale in an amount not to exceed the amount the claimant would have received had he elected to accept his proportionate part of the net proceeds of the sale, and the balance, if any, shall be payable in the same manner as are judgments in cases arising under [section 1346 of title 28](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title28-section1346&num=0&edition=prelim). The Alien Property Custodian or any successor officer or agency shall, immediately upon the entry of final judgment, notify the Secretary of the Treasury of the determination by final judgment of the claimant’s interest and right to the proportionate part of the net proceeds from the sale, and the final determination by judgment of the amount of just compensation in the event the claimant has elected to recover just compensation for the interest in the property he claimed. **(b) Return of property to certain persons, entities, or Governments; determination by President** In respect of all money or other property conveyed, transferred, assigned, delivered, or paid to the Alien Property Custodian or seized by him hereunder and held by him or by the Treasurer of the United States, if the President shall determine that the owner thereof at the time such money or other property was required to be so conveyed, transferred, assigned, delivered, or paid to the Alien Property Custodian or at the time when it was voluntarily delivered to him or was seized by him was— (1) A citizen or subject of any nation or State or free city other than Germany or Austria or Hungary or Austria-Hungary, and is at the time of the return of such money or other property hereunder a citizen or subject of any such nation or State or free city; or (2) A woman who, at the time of her marriage, was a subject or citizen of a nation which has remained neutral in the war, or of a nation which was associated with the United States in the prosecution of said war, and who, prior to April 6, 1917, intermarried with a subject or citizen of Germany or Austria-Hungary and that the money or other property concerned was not acquired by such woman, either directly or indirectly from any subject or citizen of Germany or Austria-Hungary subsequent to January 1, 1917; or (3) A woman who at the time of her marriage was a citizen of the United States, and who prior to April 6, 1917, intermarried with a subject or citizen of Germany or Austria-Hungary, and that the money or other property concerned, was not acquired by such woman, either directly or indirectly, from any subject or citizen of Germany or Austria-Hungary subsequent to January 1, 1917; or who was a daughter of a resident citizen of the United States and herself a resident or former resident thereof, or the minor daughter or daughters of such woman, she being deceased; or (3A) An individual who was at such time a citizen or subject of Germany, Austria, Hungary, or Austria-Hungary, or not a citizen or subject of any nation, state or free city, and that the money or other property concerned was acquired by such individual while a bona fide resident of the United States, and that such individual, on January 1, 1926, and at the time of the return of the money or other property, shall be a bona fide resident of the United States; or (3B) Any individual who at such time was not a subject or citizen of Germany, Austria, Hungary, or Austria-Hungary, and who is now a citizen or subject of a neutral or allied country: Provided, however, That nothing contained herein shall be construed as limiting or abrogating any existing rights of an individual under the provisions of this chapter; or (4) A citizen or subject of Germany or Austria or Hungary or Austria-Hungary and was at the time of the severance of diplomatic relations between the United States and such nations, respectively, accredited to the United States as a diplomatic or consular officer of any such nation, or the wife or minor child of such officer, and that the money or other property concerned was within the territory of the United States by reason of the service of such officer in such capacity; or (5) A citizen or subject of Germany or Austria-Hungary, who by virtue of the provisions of sections 21 to 24 of this title and of the proclamations and regulations thereunder, was transferred, after arrest, into the custody of the War Department of the United States for detention during the war and is at the time of the return of his money or other property hereunder living within the United States; or (6) A partnership, association, or other unincorporated body of individuals outside the United States, or a corporation incorporated within any country other than the United States, and was entirely owned at such time by subjects or citizens of nations, States, or free cities other than Germany or Austria or Hungary or Austria-Hungary and is so owned at the time of the return of its money or other property hereunder; or (7) The Government of Bulgaria or Turkey, or any political or municipal subdivision thereof; or (8) The Government of Germany or Austria or Hungary or Austria-Hungary, and that the money or other property concerned was the diplomatic or consular property of such Government; or (9) An individual who was at such time a citizen or subject of Germany, Austria, Hungary, or Austria-Hungary, or who is not a citizen or subject of any nation, State or free city, and that such money or other property, or the proceeds thereof, if the same has been converted, does not exceed in value the sum of $10,000, or although exceeding in value the sum of $10,000 is nevertheless susceptible of division, and the part thereof to be returned hereunder does not exceed in value the sum of $10,000: Provided, That an individual shall not be entitled, under this paragraph, to the return of any money or other property owned by a partnership, association, unincorporated body of individuals, or corporation at the time it was conveyed, transferred, assigned, delivered, or paid to the Alien Property Custodian, or seized by him hereunder; or (10) A partnership, association, other unincorporated body of individuals, or corporation, and that it is not otherwise entitled to the return of its money or other property, or any part thereof, under this section, and that such money or other property, or the proceeds thereof, if the same has been converted, does not exceed in value the sum of $10,000, or although exceeding in value the sum of $10,000, is nevertheless susceptible of division, and the part thereof to be returned hereunder does not exceed in value the sum of $10,000; or (11) A partnership, association, or other unincorporated body of individuals, having its principal place of business within any country other than Germany, Austria, Hungary, or Austria-Hungary, or a corporation, organized or incorporated within any country other than Germany, Austria, Hungary, or Austria-Hungary, and that the control of, or more than 50 per centum of the interests or voting power in, any such partnership, association, other unincorporated body of individuals, or corporation, was at such time, and is at the time of the return of any money or other property, vested in citizens or subjects of nations, States, or free cities other than Germany, Austria, Hungary, or Austria-Hungary: Provided, however, That this subsection shall not affect any rights which any citizen or subject may have under paragraph (1) of this subsection; or (12) A partnership, association, or other unincorporated body of individuals, or a corporation, and was entirely owned at such time by subjects or citizens of nations, States, or free cities other than Austria or Hungary, or Austria-Hungary and is so owned at the time of the return of its money or other property, and has filed the written consent provided for in subsection (m); or (13) A partnership, association, or other unincorporated body of individuals, having its principal place of business at such time within any country other than Austria, Hungary, or Austria-Hungary, or a corporation organized or incorporated within any country other than Austria, Hungary, or Austria-Hungary, and that the written consent provided for in subsection (m) has been filed; or (14) An individual who at such time was a citizen or subject of Germany or who, at the time of the return of any money or other property, is a citizen or subject of Germany or is not a citizen or subject of any nation, State, or free city, and that the written consent provided for in subsection (m) has been filed; or (15) Repealed. Aug. 6, 1956, ch. 1016, § 3, 70 Stat. 1073. (16) An individual, partnership, association, or other unincorporated body of individuals, or a corporation, and that the written consent provided for in subsection (m) has been filed, and that no suit or proceeding against the United States or any agency thereof is pending in respect of such return, and that such individual has filed a written waiver renouncing on behalf of himself, his heirs, successors, and assigns any claim based upon the fact that at the time of such return he was in fact entitled to such return under any other provision of this chapter; or (17) A partnership, association, or other unincorporated body of individuals, or a corporation, and was entirely owned at such time by citizens of Austria and is so owned at the time of the return of its money or other property; or (18) A partnership, association, or other unincorporated body of individuals, having its principal place of business at such time within Austria, or a corporation organized or incorporated within Austria; or (19) An individual who at such time was a citizen of Austria or who, at the time of the return of any money or other property, is a citizen of Austria; or (20) A partnership, association, or other unincorporated body of individuals, or a corporation, and was entirely owned at such time by citizens of Hungary and is so owned at the time of the return of its money or other property; or (21) A partnership, association, or other unincorporated body of individuals, having its principal place of business at such time within Hungary, or a corporation organized or incorporated within Hungary; or (22) An individual who at such time was a citizen of Hungary or who, at the time of the return of any money or other property, is a citizen of Hungary;Then the President, without any application being made therefor, may order the payment, conveyance, transfer, assignment, or delivery of such money or other property held by the Alien Property Custodian or by the Treasurer of the United States, or of the interest therein to which the President shall determine such person entitled, either to the said owner or to the person by whom said property was conveyed, transferred, assigned, delivered, or paid over to the Alien Property Custodian: Provided, That no person shall be deemed or held to be a citizen or subject of Germany or Austria or Hungary or Austria-Hungary for the purposes of this section, even though he was such citizen or subject at the time first specified in this subsection, if he has become or shall become, ipso facto or through exercise of option, a citizen or subject of any nation or State or free city other than Germany, Austria, or Hungary, (first) under the terms of such treaties of peace as have been or may be concluded subsequent to November 11, 1918, between Germany or Austria or Hungary (of the one part) and the United States and/or three or more of the following-named powers: The British Empire, France, Italy, and Japan (of the other part), or (second) under the terms of such treaties as have been or may be concluded in pursuance of the treaties of peace aforesaid between any nation, State, or free city (of the one part) whose territories, in whole or in part, on August 4, 1914, formed a portion of the territory of Germany or Austria-Hungary and the United States and/or three or more of the following-named powers: The British Empire, France, Italy, and Japan (of the other part). For the purposes of this section any citizen or subject of a State or free city which at the time of the proposed return of money or other property of such citizen or subject hereunder forms a part of the territory of any one of the following nations: Germany, Austria, or Hungary, shall be deemed to be a citizen or subject of such nation. And the receipt of the said owner or of the person by whom said money or other property was conveyed, transferred, assigned, delivered, or paid over to the Alien Property Custodian shall be a full acquittance and discharge of the Alien Property Custodian or the Treasurer of the United States, as the case may be, and of the United States in respect to all claims of all persons heretofore or hereafter claiming any right, title, or interest in said money or other property, or compensation or damages arising from the capture of such money or other property by the President or the Alien Property Custodian: Provided further, however, That except as herein provided no such action by the President shall bar any person from the prosecution of any suit at law or in equity to establish any right, title, or interest which he may have therein. **(c) Claim or suit in equity for return of property under subsection (b)** Any person whose money or other property the President is authorized to return under the provisions of subsection (b) hereof may file notice of claim for the return of such money or other property, as provided in subsection (a) hereof, and thereafter may make application to the President for allowance of such claim and/or may institute suit in equity to recover such money or other property, as provided in said subsection, and with like effect. The President or the court, as the case may be, may make the same determinations with respect to citizenship and other relevant facts that the President is authorized to make under the provisions of subsection (b) hereof. **(d) Claims of deceased individuals for return of property not requiring filing of written consent** Whenever an individual, deceased, would have been entitled, if living, to the return of any money or other property without filing the written consent provided for in subsection (m), then his legal representative may proceed for the return of such money or other property in the same manner as such individual might proceed if living, and such money or other property may be returned to such legal representative without requiring the appointment of an administrator, or an ancillary administrator, by a court in the United States, or to any such ancillary administrator, for distribution directly to the persons entitled thereto. Return in accordance with the provisions of this subsection may be made in any case where an application or court proceeding by any legal representative, under the provisions of this subsection before its amendment by the Settlement of War Claims Act of 1928 is pending and undetermined at the time of the enactment of such Act. All bonds or other security given under the provisions of this subsection before such amendment shall be canceled or released and all sureties thereon discharged. **(e) Reciprocity requirement** No money or other property shall be returned nor any debt allowed under this section to any person who is a citizen or subject of any nation which was associated with the United States in the prosecution of the war, unless such nation in like case extends reciprocal rights to citizens of the United States: Provided, That any arrangement made by a foreign nation for the release of money and other property of American citizens and certified by the Secretary of State to the Attorney General as fair and the most advantageous arrangement obtainable shall be regarded as meeting this requirement; nor in any event shall a debt be allowed under this section unless it was owing to and owned by the claimant prior to October 6, 1917, and as to claimants other than citizens of the United States unless it arose with reference to the money or other property held by the Alien Property Custodian or Treasurer of the United States hereunder; nor shall a debt be allowed under this section unless notice of the claim has been filed, or application therefor has been made, prior to March 10, 1928. **(f) Liability of property to lien, attachment, or any court order or decree** Except as herein provided, the money or other property conveyed, transferred, assigned, delivered, or paid to the Alien Property Custodian, shall not be liable to lien, attachment, garnishment, trustee process, or execution, or subject to any order or decree of any court. **(g) Claims of deceased individuals for return of property requiring filing of written consent** Whenever an individual, deceased, would have been entitled, if living, to the return of any money or other property upon filing the written consent provided for in subsection (m), then his legal representative may proceed for the return of such money or other property in the same manner as such individual might proceed if living, and such money or other property may be returned, upon filing the written consent provided for in subsection (m), to such legal representative without requiring the appointment of an administrator, or an ancillary administrator, by a court in the United States, or to any such ancillary administrator, for distribution to the persons entitled thereto. This subsection shall not be construed as extinguishing or diminishing any right which any citizen of the United States may have had under this subsection prior to its amendment by the Settlement of War Claims Act of 1928 to receive in full his interest in the property of any individual dying before such amendment. **(h) Aggregate value of certain subsection (b) property** The aggregate value of the money or other property returned under paragraphs (9) and (10) of subsection (b) to any one person, irrespective of the number of trusts involved, shall in no case exceed $10,000. **(i) Accumulated interest and other earnings of certain subsection (b) property** For the purposes of paragraphs (9) and (10) of subsection (b) of this section accumulated net income, dividends, interest, annuities, and other earnings, shall be considered as part of the principal. **(j) Return of patents, trademarks, and copyrights** The Alien Property Custodian is authorized and directed to return to the person entitled thereto, whether or not an enemy or ally of enemy and regardless of the value, any patent, trademark, print, label, copyright, or right therein or claim thereto, which was conveyed, transferred, assigned, or delivered to the Alien Property Custodian, or seized by him, and which has not been sold, licensed, or otherwise disposed of under the provisions of this chapter, and to return any such patent, trademark, print, label, copyright, or right therein or claim thereto, which has been licensed, except that any patent, trade-mark, print, label, copyright, or right therein or claim thereto, which is returned by the Alien Property Custodian and which has been licensed, or in respect of which any contract has been entered into, or which is subject to any lien or encumbrance, shall be returned subject to the license, contract, lien, or encumbrance. **(k) Patents, trademarks, and copyrights; application of subsection (b) to proceeds** Except as provided in [section 4324 of this title](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title50-section4324&num=0&edition=prelim), paragraphs (12) to (22), both inclusive, of subsection (b) of this section shall apply to the proceeds received from the sale, license, or other disposition of any patent, trademark, print, label, copyright, or right therein or claim thereto, conveyed, transferred, assigned, or delivered to the Alien Property Custodian, or seized by him. **(l) Royalties** This section shall apply to royalties paid to the Alien Property Custodian, in accordance with a judgment or decree in a suit brought under subsection (f) of [section 4310 of this title](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title50-section4310&num=0&edition=prelim); but shall not apply to any other money paid to the Alien Property Custodian under [section 4310 of this title](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title50-section4310&num=0&edition=prelim). **(m) Temporary retention and investment of portion of value of property; written consent** No money or other property shall be returned under paragraph (12), (13), (14), or (16) of subsection (b) or under subsection (g) or (n) or (to the extent therein provided) under subsection (p), unless the person entitled thereto files a written consent to a postponement of the return of an amount equal to 20 per centum of the aggregate value of such money or other property (at the time, as nearly as may be, of the return), as determined by the Alien Property Custodian, and the investment of such amount in accordance with the provisions of [section 4322 of this title](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title50-section4322&num=0&edition=prelim). Such amount shall be deducted from the money to be returned to such person, so far as possible, and the balance shall be deducted from the proceeds of the sale of so much of the property as may be necessary, unless such person pays the balance to the Alien Property Custodian, except that no property shall be sold prior to the expiration of six years from March 10, 1928, without the consent of the person entitled thereto. The amounts so deducted shall be returned to the persons entitled thereto as provided in subsection (f) of [section 4322 of this title](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title50-section4322&num=0&edition=prelim). The sale of any such property shall be made in accordance with the provisions of [section 4312 of this title](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title50-section4312&num=0&edition=prelim), except that the provisions of such section relating to sales or resales to, or for the benefit of, citizens of the United States shall not be applicable. If such aggregate value of the money or other property to be returned under paragraph (12), (13), (14), or (16) of subsection (b) or under subsection (g) is less than $2,000, then the written consent shall not be required and the money or other property shall be returned in full without the temporary retention and investment of 20 per centum thereof. **(n) Corporate stock or bonds** In the case of property consisting of stock or other interest in any corporation, association, company, or trust, or of bonded or other indebtedness thereof, evidenced by certificates of stock or by bonds or by other certificates of interest therein or indebtedness thereof, or consisting of dividends or interest or other accruals thereon, where the right, title, and interest in the property (but not the actual certificate or bond or other certificate of interest or indebtedness) was conveyed, transferred, assigned, delivered, or paid to the Alien Property Custodian, or seized by him, if the President determines that the owner thereof or of any interest therein has acquired such ownership by assignment, transfer, or sale of such certificate or bond or other certificate of interest or indebtedness, (it being the intent of this subsection that such assignment, transfer, or sale shall not be deemed invalid hereunder by reason of such conveyance, transfer, assignment, delivery, or payment to the Alien Property Custodian or seizure by him) and that the written consent provided for in subsection (m) has been filed, then the President may make in respect of such property an order of the same character, upon the same conditions, and with the same effect, as in cases provided for in subsection (b), including the benefits of subsection (c). **(o) Extinguishment of rights** The provisions of paragraph (12), (13), (14), (17), (18), (19), (20), (21), or (22) of subsection (b), or of subsection (m) or (n) of this section, and (except to the extent therein provided) the provisions of paragraph (16) of subsection (b), shall not be construed as diminishing or extinguishing any right under any other provision of this chapter in force immediately prior to the enactment of the Settlement of War Claims Act of 1928. **(p) Successors in interest** The Alien Property Custodian shall transfer the money or other property in the trust of any partnership, association, or other unincorporated body of individuals, or corporation, the existence of which has terminated, to trusts in the names of the persons (including the German Government and members of the former ruling family) who have succeeded to its claim or interest; and the provisions of subsection (a) of this section relating to the collection of a debt (by order of the President or of a court) out of money or other property held by the Alien Property Custodian or the Treasurer of the United States shall be applicable to the debts of such successor and any such debt may be collected out of the money or other property in any of such trusts if not returnable under subsection (a) of this section. Subject to the above provisions as to the collection of debts, each such successor (except the German Government and members of the former ruling family) may proceed for the return of the amount so transferred to his trust, in the same manner as such partnership, association, or other unincorporated body of individuals, or corporation might proceed if still in existence. If such partnership, association, or other unincorporated body of individuals, or corporation, would have been entitled to the return of its money or other property only upon filing the written consent provided for in subsection (m), then the successor shall be entitled to the return under this subsection only upon filing such written consent. **(q) Limitations imposed by Settlement of War Claims Act** The return of money or other property under paragraph (15), (17), (18), (19), (20), (21), or (22) of subsection (b) (relating to the return of Austrian and Hungarian nationals) shall be subject to the limitations imposed by subsections (d) and (e) of section 7 of the Settlement of War Claims Act of 1928.