Opinion ID: 573096
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Requirement of Timely Filing

Text: 18 We review the district court's order striking Flores' claim under the abuse of discretion standard. U.S. v. One Dairy Farm, 918 F.2d 310, 311 (1st Cir.1990); U.S. v. Beechcraft Queen Airplane, 789 F.2d 627, 630 (8th Cir.1986). Flores contends that his claim to the currency was filed in a timely fashion, and that the district court therefore abused its discretion in striking his claim. To determine the merits of this contention, we must first review the nature of a forfeiture proceeding and examine the claim-submission process as specified in the Supplemental Rules. 19 A forfeiture proceeding is an action against the seized property, rather than the claimant, brought under the legal fiction that the property itself is guilty of facilitating the crime. U.S. v. $38,000 in U.S. Currency, 816 F.2d 1538, 1543 n. 12 (11th Cir.1987). In a forfeiture proceeding involving currency, the district court exercises in rem jurisdiction and the currency is the res. U.S. v. $57,480.05 U.S. Currency and Other Coins, 722 F.2d 1457, 1458 (9th Cir.1984). The power of the court is derived entirely from its control over the defendant res. Id. Jurisdiction over the res is obtained by arrest under process of the court. Alyeska Pipeline Serv. Co. v. Vessel Bay Ridge, 703 F.2d 381, 384 (9th Cir.1983), cert. dism'd, 467 U.S. 1247, 104 S.Ct. 3526, 82 L.Ed.2d 852 (1984). No in rem suit can be maintained without a valid arrest of the res by the marshal. 20 The United States commences a judicial forfeiture by filing a verified complaint in the district where seizure occurred. S.R. C(2). Upon the filing of the complaint, the clerk issues a summons and warrant for arrest of the res and delivers it to the marshal for service. S.R. C(3). Service of the warrant on the res constitutes execution of process. U.S. v. U.S. Currency Totalling $3,817.49, 826 F.2d 785, 786-87 (8th Cir.1987); $38,000, 816 F.2d at 1545-46; see also U.S. v. One Assortment of Eighty-Nine Firearms, 846 F.2d 24, 27 (6th Cir.1988). Service must be made upon the res itself. $38,000, 816 F.2d at 1545 n. 15; $3,817.49, 826 F.2d at 787. 21 The claimant of the property that is the subject of the action must file a verified claim within ten days after process has been executed or within such time as the court allows, and must file an answer to the complaint within twenty days after the filing of the claim. S.R. C(6). If the res is not released within ten days after execution of process, the government must give public notice of the action in a newspaper of general circulation designated by the court. Such notice must specify the time within which the answer is to be filed as provided by Supplemental Rule C(6). S.R. C(4). The notice need not refer to the filing of the claim. 22 Given the language of Supplemental Rules C(4) and C(6), it is not surprising that confusion exists over the content of the published notice and the claim-submission procedure in general. Accord U.S. v. Various Parcels of Real Property, 650 F.Supp. 62, 64 n. 2 (N.D.Ind.1986). Supplemental Rule C(6) calls for the filing of a claim, a procedure not required to be noticed by publication under Supplemental Rule C(4). It also calls for the claim to be filed within ten days after execution of process, an event that may have already passed before the notice is published. A claimant who is not aware of execution of process on the res would have no notice of the forfeiture action before the general notice is published, and thus could not be expected to file a claim within ten days of the execution. Cf. id. 23 In the instant case, Flores argues that while he received actual notice of the forfeiture action through the complaint and warrant on March 12, 1990, he never received notice of the date of execution of process on the currency. Without knowing that date, Flores argues, he could not know when the ten-day claim deadline had passed. Flores' contention is without merit. He was served a copy of the warrant of seizure and monition on March 12, 1990, by registered mail. As the government correctly points out, while the warrant did not give Flores notice of the date of execution of process, it certainly put him on notice that execution of process on the res had recently occurred or was imminent. Flores could then have inquired at the clerk's office for the marshal's return of service, which was filed with the clerk on March 15, 1990. Flores therefore had constructive notice on March 15 that process had been executed--i.e., the warrant had been served on the res --on March 9, and that he had only until March 19 to file his claim. 24 Flores argues in the alternative that, because he received a copy of the warrant with the complaint, he was entitled to rely on the language of the warrant as to the time in which he was required to file a claim as additional time as may be allowed by the court pursuant to Supplemental Rule C(6). The warrant received by Flores contained the following information: 25 You [the marshal] are therefore hereby commanded to attach said [$38,570] ... and to detain the same in your custody ... and to give notice to all persons claiming the same, or knowing or having anything to say why the same should not be condemned as forfeited to the use of the United States, ... that they be and appear before the said Court ... on the tenth day after publication next ... then and there to interpose a claim for the same and to make their allegations in that behalf (emphasis added). 26 Flores received the notice as required by the warrant language in the form of a copy of the warrant. Flores argues that the instructions in the marshal's notice provide clear directions to recipients as to the date for the filing of a claim. At the very least, contends Flores, he should not be penalized by the government's confusing message as to the filing deadline. Cf. U.S. v. One 1979 Oldsmobile-Cutlass Supreme, 589 F.Supp. 477, 478 (N.D.Ga.1984) (excusing late claim because claimant relied detrimentally on misinformation from a government agency); U.S. v. One 1966 Chevrolet Pickup Truck, 56 F.R.D. 459, 460 (E.D.Tex.1972) (same). 27 The government, on the other hand, argues that the clause in Rule C(6) allowing for additional time should be read to require the claimant to file with the court a motion for leave to file a late claim, and make a showing of good faith effort to comply with the Rule. See One Dairy Farm, 918 F.2d at 312. We need not decide whether the language of the warrant constitutes additional time [to file a claim] as may be allowed by the court pursuant to Supplemental Rule C(6), or whether Flores was entitled to rely on the instructions, because Flores did not follow the instruction on which he allegedly relied in the warrant. 7 He did not file his claim on or before the tenth day after publication next. Publication of the notice in the newspaper occurred on March 23, March 31, and April 6, 1990. Flores received the warrant on March 12. The next publication date was March 23, giving him until April 2 to file his claim. He did not do so until April 11. 8 His claim was therefore untimely even under the requirements of the warrant, and the district court did not abuse its discretion in striking it. 28 The district court also did not abuse its discretion in striking Flores' answer. Flores filed his answer on April 9, 1990, two days before he filed his complaint. Supplemental Rule C(6) specifies that the answer must be filed within 20 days after the filing of the claim. Flores' answer was not filed within 20 days after the filing of his claim, and hence, the district court had discretion to strike it. Cf. Beechcraft, 789 F.2d at 627 (affirming the striking of an answer because it was not preceded by a verified claim); Eighty-Nine Firearms, 846 F.2d at 26 (noting that courts have held claimants to strict compliance with the provisions of Rule C(6)); $38,000, 816 F.2d at 1547 (same).