28 U.S.C. § 2465 — Return of property to claimant; liability

Page 613 TITLE 28—JUDICIARY AND JUDICIAL PROCEDURE § 2465 Changes were made in phraseology. § 2464. Security; special bond (a) Except in cases of seizures for forfeiture under any law of the United States, whenever a warrant of arrest or other process in rem is issued in any admiralty case, the United States marshal shall stay the execution of such proc- ess, or discharge the property arrested if the process has been levied, on receiving from the respondent or claimant of the property a bond or stipulation in double the amount claimed by the libellant, with sufficient surety, to be approved by the judge of the district court where the case is pending, or, in his absence, by the collector of the port, conditioned to answer the decree of the court in such case. Such bond or stipulation shall be returned to the court, and judgment or decree thereon, against both the principal and sureties, may be secured at the time of ren- dering the decree in the original case. The owner of any vessel may deliver to the marshal a bond or stipulation, with sufficient surety, to be ap- proved by the judge of the district court, condi- tioned to answer the decree of such court in all or any cases that are brought thereafter in such court against the vessel. Thereupon the execu- tion of all such process against such vessel shall be stayed so long as the amount secured by such bond or stipulation is at least double the aggre- gate amount claimed by libellants in such suits which are begun and pending against such ves- sel. Similar judgments or decrees and remedies may be had on such bond or stipulation as if a special bond or stipulation had been filed in each of such suits. (b) The court may make necessary orders to carry this section into effect, particularly in giving proper notice of any such suit. Such bond or stipulation shall be indorsed by the clerk with a minute of the suits wherein process is so stayed. Further security may be required by the court at any time. (c) If a special bond or stipulation in the par- ticular case is given under this section, the li- ability as to said case on the general bond or stipulation shall cease. The parties may stipu- late the amount of the bond or stipulation for the release of a vessel or other property to be not more than the amount claimed in the libel, with interest, plus an allowance for libellant’s costs. In the event of the inability or refusal of the parties to so stipulate, the court shall fix the amount, but if not so fixed then a bond shall be required in the amount prescribed in this sec- tion. (June 25, 1948, ch. 646, 62 Stat. 974.) HISTORICAL AND REVISION NOTES Based on title 28, U.S.C., 1940 ed., § 754 (R.S. § 941; Mar. 3, 1899, ch. 441, 30 Stat. 1354; Aug. 3, 1935, ch. 431, § 3, 49 Stat. 513). Changes were made in phraseology. Executive Documents TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS All offices of collector of customs, comptroller of cus- toms, surveyor of customs, and appraiser of merchan- dise of Bureau of Customs of Department of the Treas- ury to which appointments were required to be made by the President with the advice and consent of the Sen- ate were ordered abolished, with such offices to be ter- minated not later than Dec. 31, 1966, by Reorg. Plan No. 1, of 1965, eff. May 25, 1965, 30 F.R. 7035, 79 Stat. 1317, set out in the Appendix to Title 5, Government Organiza- tion and Employees. All functions of the offices elimi- nated were already vested in the Secretary of the Treasury by Reorg. Plan No. 26 of 1950, eff. July 31, 1950, 15 F.R. 4935, 64 Stat. 1280, set out in the Appendix to Title 5. § 2465. Return of property to claimant; liability for wrongful seizure; attorney fees, costs, and interest (a) Upon the entry of a judgment for the claimant in any proceeding to condemn or for- feit property seized or arrested under any provi- sion of Federal law— (1) such property shall be returned forthwith to the claimant or his agent; and (2) if it appears that there was reasonable cause for the seizure or arrest, the court shall cause a proper certificate thereof to be entered and, in such case, neither the person who made the seizure or arrest nor the prosecutor shall be liable to suit or judgment on account of such suit or prosecution, nor shall the claim- ant be entitled to costs, except as provided in subsection (b). (b)(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), in any civil proceeding to forfeit property under any provision of Federal law in which the claim- ant substantially prevails, the United States shall be liable for— (A) reasonable attorney fees and other liti- gation costs reasonably incurred by the claim- ant; (B) post-judgment interest, as set forth in section 1961 of this title; and (C) in cases involving currency, other nego- tiable instruments, or the proceeds of an in- terlocutory sale— (i) interest actually paid to the United States from the date of seizure or arrest of the property that resulted from the invest- ment of the property in an interest-bearing account or instrument; and (ii) an imputed amount of interest that such currency, instruments, or proceeds would have earned at the rate applicable to the 30-day Treasury Bill, for any period dur- ing which no interest was paid (not includ- ing any period when the property reasonably was in use as evidence in an official pro- ceeding or in conducting scientific tests for the purpose of collecting evidence), com- mencing 15 days after the property was seized by a Federal law enforcement agency, or was turned over to a Federal law enforce- ment agency by a State or local law enforce- ment agency. (2)(A) The United States shall not be required to disgorge the value of any intangible benefits nor make any other payments to the claimant not specifically authorized by this subsection. (B) The provisions of paragraph (1) shall not apply if the claimant is convicted of a crime for which the interest of the claimant in the prop- erty was subject to forfeiture under a Federal criminal forfeiture law. (C) If there are multiple claims to the same property, the United States shall not be liable Page 614 TITLE 28—JUDICIARY AND JUDICIAL PROCEDURE § 2466 for costs and attorneys fees associated with any such claim if the United States— (i) promptly recognizes such claim; (ii) promptly returns the interest of the claimant in the property to the claimant, if the property can be divided without difficulty and there are no competing claims to that por- tion of the property; (iii) does not cause the claimant to incur ad- ditional, reasonable costs or fees; and (iv) prevails in obtaining forfeiture with re- spect to one or more of the other claims. (D) If the court enters judgment in part for the claimant and in part for the Government, the court shall reduce the award of costs and attor- ney fees accordingly. (June 25, 1948, ch. 646, 62 Stat. 975; Pub. L. 106–185, § 4(a), Apr. 25, 2000, 114 Stat. 211.) HISTORICAL AND REVISION NOTES Based on title 28, U.S.C., 1940 ed., §§ 818, 827 (R.S. §§ 970, 979). Section consolidates sections 818 and 827 of title 28, U.S.C., 1940 ed., with changes of phraseology necessary to effect the consolidation. The words ‘‘in any proceeding to condemn or forfeit property’’ were inserted in conformity with the uni- form course of judicial decisions. See Hammel v. Little, App.D.C. 1936, 87 F.2d 907, and cases there cited. The qualifying language of section 827 of title 28, U.S.C., 1940 ed., requiring the claimant to pay his own costs before the return of his property was omitted as unnecessary and involving a matter more properly for regulation by rule of court. (See sections 1913, 1914, and 1925 of this title.) (See also section 2006 of this title with respect to ac- tions against internal revenue officers and their liabil- ity for acts in the performance of official duties.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 2000—Pub. L. 106–185 amended section catchline and text generally. Prior to amendment, text read as fol- lows: ‘‘Upon the entry of judgment for the claimant in any proceeding to condemn or forfeit property seized under any Act of Congress, such property shall be re- turned forthwith to the claimant or his agent; but if it appears that there was reasonable cause for the seizure, the court shall cause a proper certificate thereof to be entered and the claimant shall not, in such case, be en- titled to costs, nor shall the person who made the sei- zure, nor the prosecutor, be liable to suit or judgment on account of such suit or prosecution.’’ Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF 2000 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 106–185 applicable to any for- feiture proceeding commenced on or after the date that is 120 days after Apr. 25, 2000, see section 21 of Pub. L. 106–185, set out as a note under section 1324 of Title 8, Aliens and Nationality. § 2466. Fugitive disentitlement (a) A judicial officer may disallow a person from using the resources of the courts of the United States in furtherance of a claim in any related civil forfeiture action or a claim in third party proceedings in any related criminal for- feiture action upon a finding that such person— (1) after notice or knowledge of the fact that a warrant or process has been issued for his apprehension, in order to avoid criminal pros- ecution— (A) purposely leaves the jurisdiction of the United States; (B) declines to enter or reenter the United States to submit to its jurisdiction; or (C) otherwise evades the jurisdiction of the court in which a criminal case is pending against the person; and (2) is not confined or held in custody in any other jurisdiction for commission of criminal conduct in that jurisdiction. (b) Subsection (a) may be applied to a claim filed by a corporation if any majority share- holder, or individual filing the claim on behalf of the corporation is a person to whom sub- section (a) applies. (Added Pub. L. 106–185, § 14(a), Apr. 25, 2000, 114 Stat. 219; amended Pub. L. 107–56, title III, § 322, Oct. 26, 2001, 115 Stat. 315; Pub. L. 109–162, title XI, § 1171(c), Jan. 5, 2006, 119 Stat. 3123; Pub. L. 109–177, title IV, § 406(a)(1), Mar. 9, 2006, 120 Stat. 244.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 2006—Pub. L. 109–177 directed amendment of directory language of Pub. L. 107–56, § 322, identical to amend- ment by Pub. L. 109–162. See below. Pub. L. 109–162 amended directory language of Pub. L. 107–56, § 322. See 2001 Amendment note below. 2001—Pub. L. 107–56, § 322, as amended by Pub. L. 109–162, designated existing provisions as subsec. (a) and added subsec. (b). Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF 2006 AMENDMENT Pub. L. 109–162, title XI, § 1171(c), Jan. 5, 2006, 119 Stat. 3123, provided in part that the amendment made by sec- tion 1171(c) of Pub. L. 109–162 is effective Oct. 26, 2001. EFFECTIVE DATE Pub. L. 106–185, § 14(c), Apr. 25, 2000, 114 Stat. 219, pro- vided that: ‘‘The amendments made by this section [en- acting this section] shall apply to any case pending on or after the date of the enactment of this Act [Apr. 25, 2000].’’ § 2467. Enforcement of foreign judgment (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— (1) the term ‘‘foreign nation’’ means a coun- try that has become a party to the United Na- tions Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (referred to in this section as the ‘‘United Na- tions Convention’’) or a foreign jurisdiction with which the United States has a treaty or other formal international agreement in effect providing for mutual forfeiture assistance; and (2) the term ‘‘forfeiture or confiscation judg- ment’’ means a final order of a foreign nation compelling a person or entity— (A) to pay a sum of money representing the proceeds of an offense described in Arti- cle 3, Paragraph 1, of the United Nations Convention, any violation of foreign law that would constitute a violation or an of- fense for which property could be forfeited under Federal law if the offense were com- mitted in the United States, or any foreign offense described in section 1956(c)(7)(B) of