(2) COMPLAINT. The complaint must:
(b) state the grounds for subject-matter jurisdiction, in rem jurisdiction over the defendant property, and venue;
(c) describe the property with reasonable particularity;
(d) if the property is tangible, state its location when any seizure occurred and — if different — its location when the action is filed;
(e) identify the statute under which the forfeiture action is brought; and
(f) state sufficiently detailed facts to support a reasonable belief that the government will be able to meet its burden of proof at trial.
(b) Other Property; Arrest Warrant. If the defendant is not real property:
(ii) the court — on finding probable cause — must issue a warrant to arrest the property if it is not in the government’s possession, custody, or control and is not subject to a judicial restraining order; and
(iii) a warrant is not necessary if the property is subject to a judicial restraining order.
(B) someone under contact with the United States; or
(C) someone specially appointed by the court for that purpose.
(B) the court orders a different time when the complaint is under seal, the action is stayed before the warrant and supplemental process are executed, or the court finds other good cause.
(iv) If executing a warrant on property outside the United States is required, the warrant may be transmitted to an appropriate authority for serving process where the property is located.
(B) the court finds that the cost of publication exceeds the property’s value and that other means of notice would satisfy due process.
(B) state the times under Rule G(5) to file a claim and to answer; and
(C) name the government attorney to be served with the claim and answer.
(B) only once if, before the action was filed, notice of nonjudicial forfeiture of the same property was published on an official internet government forfeiture site for at least 30 consecutive days, or in a newspaper of general circulation for three consecutive weeks in a district where publication is authorized under Rule G(4)(a)(iv).
(B) if the property is outside the United States, publication in a newspaper generally circulated in a district where the action is filed, in a newspaper generally circulated in the country where the property is located, or in legal notices published and generally circulated in the country where the property is located; or
(C) instead of (A) or (B), posting a notice on an official internet government forfeiture site for at least 30 consecutive days.
(ii) Content of the Notice. The notice must state:
(B) a deadline for filing a claim, at least 35 days after the notice is sent;
(C) that an answer or a motion under Rule 12 must be filed no later than 21 days after filing the claim; and
(D) the name of the government attorney to be served with the claim and answer.
(B) Notice may be sent to the potential claimant or to the attorney representing the potential claimant with respect to the seizure of the property or in a related investigation, administrative forfeiture proceeding, or criminal case.
(C) Notice sent to a potential claimant who is incarcerated must be sent to the place of incarceration.
(D) Notice to a person arrested in connection with an offense giving rise to the forfeiture who is not incarcerated when notice is sent may be sent to the address that person last gave to the agency that arrested or released the person.
(E) Notice to a person from whom the property was seized who is not incarcerated when notice is sent may be sent to the last address that person gave to the agency that seized the property.
(v) Actual Notice. A potential claimant who had actual notice of a forfeiture action may not oppose or seek relief from forfeiture because of the government’s failure to send the required notice.
(B) identify the claimant and state the claimant’s interest in the property;
(C) be signed by the claimant under penalty of perjury; and
(D) be served on the government attorney designated under Rule G(4)(a)(ii)(C) or (b)(ii)(D).
(B) if notice was published but direct notice was not sent to the claimant or the claimant’s attorney, no later than 30 days after final publication of newspaper notice or legal notice under Rule G(4)(a) or no later than 60 days after the first day of publication on an official internet government forfeiture site; or
(C) if notice was not published and direct notice was not sent to the claimant or the claimant’s attorney:
(2) if the property was not in the government’s possession, custody, or control when the complaint was filed, no later than 60 days after the government complied with 18 U.S.C. §985(c) as to real property, or 60 days after process was executed on the property under Rule G(3).
(b) Answers or Objections. Answers or objections to these interrogatories must be served within 21 days after the interrogatories are served.
(c) Government’s Response Deferred. The government need not respond to a claimant’s motion to dismiss the action under Rule G(8)(b) until 21 days after the claimant has answered these interrogatories.
(b) Interlocutory Sale or Delivery.
(B) the expense of keeping the property is excessive or is disproportionate to its fair market value;
(C) the property is subject to a mortgage or to taxes on which the owner is in default; or
(D) the court finds other good cause.
(iii) Sale Procedures. The sale is governed by 28 U.S.C. §§2001, 2002, and 2004, unless all parties, with the court’s approval, agree to the sale, aspects of the sale, or different procedures.
(iv) Sale Proceeds. Sale proceeds are a substitute res subject to forfeiture in place of the property that was sold. The proceeds must be held in an interest-bearing account maintained by the United States pending the conclusion of the forfeiture action.
(v) Delivery on a Claimant’s Motion. The court may order that the property be delivered to the claimant pending the conclusion of the action if the claimant shows circumstances that would permit sale under Rule G(7)(b)(i) and gives security under these rules.
(b) Motion To Dismiss the Action.
(ii) In an action governed by 18 U.S.C. §983(a)(3)(D) the complaint may not be dismissed on the ground that the government did not have adequate evidence at the time the complaint was filed to establish the forfeitability of the property. The sufficiency of the complaint is governed by Rule G(2).
(B) because the claimant lacks standing.
(B) may be presented as a motion for judgment on the pleadings or as a motion to determine after a hearing or by summary judgment whether the claimant can carry the burden of establishing standing by a preponderance of the evidence.
(ii) If a petition for release is filed before a judicial forfeiture action is filed against the property, the petition may be filed either in the district where the property was seized or in the district where a warrant to seize the property issued. If a judicial forfeiture action against the property is later filed in another district — or if the government shows that the action will be filed in another district — the petition may be transferred to that district under 28 U.S.C. §1404.
(ii) the parties have had the opportunity to conduct civil discovery on the defense.
US Supreme Court // ©
(As added Apr. 12, 2006, eff. Dec. 1, 2006; amended Mar. 26, 2009, eff. Dec. 1, 2009.)