Opinion ID: 664157
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Motion to File Late Claim & Answer.

Text: 70 Supplemental Rule C(6) provides that a claimant must file a claim within 10 days after process has been executed, or within such additional time as may be allowed by the court, and shall serve an answer within 20 days after the filing of the claim. Although the district court has discretion to extend the time in which a claimant must file a claim, the court's discretion is not unbounded. United States v. 1982 Yukon Delta Houseboat, 774 F.2d 1432, 1436 (9th Cir.1985). The court should exercise its discretion to allow a late claim only if the goals underlying the time restriction and the verification requirement are not thwarted. Id. 71 The purpose of the time restriction in Supplemental Rule C(6) is to force claimants to come forward as soon as possible after forfeiture proceedings have been initiated so that all interested parties can be heard and the dispute resolved without delay. 1982 Yukon Delta Houseboat, 774 F.2d at 1436. The purpose of the verification requirement is to prevent false claims. See id.; United States v. Currency $267,961.07, 916 F.2d 1104, 1108 (6th Cir.1990). The government commenced this civil forfeiture action in July 1991. Nitsua did not attempt to file a claim or otherwise assert any claim of ownership to the property until almost a year later, after the government had moved for default. Permitting a late filing under these circumstances would not further the goal of Supplemental Rule C(6)'s time requirements. 72 Moreover, the equities do not favor granting Nitsua additional time. See United States v. Borromeo, 945 F.2d 750, 753 (4th Cir.1991) (noting that whether a particular claimant's circumstances constitute 'excusable neglect' ... is equity-ridden and discussing factors courts have considered when balancing the equities). We have determined that notice to Nitsua was good, and counsel for Nitsua admitted that at least one of Nitsua's principals was aware of the seizure and the forfeiture proceedings not long after [they] occurred. App. to Appellee's Br., Tr. at 16. Nonetheless, Nitsua did not attempt to assert an interest in the property until almost a year after the forfeiture proceedings were commenced. Nitsua has neither suggested nor established that the government either encouraged the delay or misguided Nitsua in any way. Finally, and perhaps most significantly, Nitsua's counsel indicated that although Nitsua knew about the forfeiture proceedings, it purposely waited until after the criminal proceedings were concluded before filing a claim so as not to become entangled in the criminal action. See supra at n. 13. Under the circumstances, the district court did not abuse its discretion in refusing to grant Nitsua additional time in which to file a claim and answer. 14 73 In light of Nitsua's failure to file a timely claim and answer, we need not address Nitsua's argument that the government's second amended complaint failed to plead the facts giving rise to its forfeiture claim with sufficient particularity. Further, we note that at the hearing on its motion for default, the government presented evidence that the district court found sufficient to support a finding of probable cause to forfeit the property. See United States v. On Leong Chinese Merchants Ass'n Bldg., 918 F.2d 1289, 1292 (7th Cir.1990) (The government's burden in a civil forfeiture case is merely to establish probable cause to believe that the defendant property is subject to forfeiture.), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 112 S.Ct. 52, 116 L.Ed.2d 29 (1991). Nitsua does not challenge the evidentiary basis for that finding on appeal. 74