(1) Filing Claims.
A properly filed claim commences a contested case proceeding under the Act.
Each claimant shall file a separate claim, except a husband and wife with
common interests may file a single claim but each must sign the
claim.
(2) The Legal Division shall
stamp or write on the claim the date that a claim is received. Any document
received after regularly scheduled business hours shall be date stamped as of
the next business day. Regularly scheduled business hours for the Legal
Division are as follows: For the central time region of Tennessee 8:00
A.M.-4:30 P.M. C.S.T. (C.D.S.T.) and for the eastern time region of Tennessee
8:00 A.M.-4:30 P.M. E.S.T.(E.D.S.T.)
(3) A purported claim that does not comply
with Paragraph (4) of this Rule does NOT commence a contested case proceeding
and does NOT stay the thirty (30) day filing time. Claims not filed by an
attorney may be reviewed less stringently.
(4) Claim.
(a) A
claim is a written request, signed by
the claimant, seeking to recover an alleged interest in seized property. If the
claimant is an individual, the
claim must be signed by the claimant and/or
claimant's attorney. If the claimant is a business entity, the
claim must be
signed by an individual whose authority to sign is reflected on the
claim.
Claims shall be filed with the Legal Division at the address below within
thirty (30) days of notification of a forfeiture warrant. A
claim must set
forth the following:
1. The full name of
claimant.
2. The address where
claimant will accept mail.
3. The
telephone number where claimant can be reached.
4. Identification of the seized property in
which claimant asserts an interest.
5. The nature and extent of claimant's
interest in the seized property.
6.
A valid cost bond or Pauper's Oath per paragraph (5) below.
(b) If a secured party with a duly
perfected security interest receives notification pursuant to T.C.A. §
40-33-204(g) that
a Forfeiture Warrant has been issued with regard to such secured property, such
secured party must submit proof of the security interest ( copy of title and
security agreement) to the department within thirty (30) days of receipt of
such notification in order for the provisions of this subparagraph to apply. A
secured party with a duly perfected interest or any successor in interest to
such secured party who does not receive notice of intent to forfeit such
interest pursuant to T.C.A. §
40-33-204(b)(3),
need not file a claim to preserve any right such party may have to such
property. However, it shall be the duty of the lienholder who receives notice
pursuant to T.C.A. §
40-33-204(g) to
inform the department that there is a successor-in-interest. Upon receiving
proof of a security interest, no cost bond or other pleadings need be filed by
the secured party or successor in interest in order to protect its interest in
the seized property or to assert a claim to the property as provided in T.C.A.
§
40-33-206. If the department
notifies a secured party that it intends to seek forfeiture of the secured
party's interest, it shall seek a Forfeiture Warrant against such secured party
as provided in T.C.A. §
40-33-204(b).
Upon receiving notice that such a Forfeiture Warrant has been issued, the
secured party is required to file a claim for the property as provided in this
part.
Any secured party, other than one described above, or any
successor-in-interest to such secured party may file a claim for seized
property by complying with the provisions of T.C.A. §
40-33-206, within thirty (30) days
of the date the Forfeiture Warrant is issued.
(c) Claims, proof of security interests and
any other filings in a
contested case should be mailed or sent by facsimile to
the Legal Office that serves the county in which the seizure took place:
|
Legal Division-Nashville
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Bedford
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Jackson
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Putnam
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Legal Division - Nashville
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Cannon
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Lawrence
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Robertson
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Tennessee Department of Safety
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Cheatham
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Lewis
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Rutherford
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1150 Foster Avenue,
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Clay
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Lincoln
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Smith
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Nashville, TN 37243
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Cumberland
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Macon
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Stewart
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Davidson
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Marshall
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Sumner
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Telephone number: (615) 251-5296
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DeKalb
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Maury
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Trousdale
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Facsimile: (615) 532-7918
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Dickson
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Montgomery
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Wayne
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Giles
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Moore
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White
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Hickman
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Overton
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Williamson
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Houston
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Perry
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Wilson
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Humphreys
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Pickett
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Legal Division - East Tennessee
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Anderson
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Grundy
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Morgan
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Legal Division - East Tennessee
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Bledsoe
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Hamblen
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Polk
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Tennessee Department of Safety
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Blount
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Hamilton
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Rhea
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7175 Strawberry Plains Pike, Ste. 102
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Bradley
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Hancock
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Roane
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Knoxville, TN 37914
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Campbell
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Hawkins
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Scott
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Carter
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Jefferson
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Sequatchie
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Telephone Number: (865) 594-6519
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Claiborne
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Johnson
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Sevier
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Facsimile: (865) 594-5311
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Cocke
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Knox
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Sullivan
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Coffee
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Loudon
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Unicoi
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Fentress
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McMinn
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Union
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Franklin
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Marion
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Van Buren
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Grainger
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Meigs
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Warren
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Green
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Monroe
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Washington
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Benton
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Gibson
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Lauderdale
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Legal Division - West Tennessee
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Carroll
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Hardeman
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McNairy
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Tennessee Department of Safety
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Chester
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Hardin
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Madison
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6174 Macon Road
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Crockett
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Haywood
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Obion
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Memphis, TN 38134
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Decatur
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Henderson
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Shelby
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Dyer
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Henry
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Tipton
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Telephone Number: (901) 372-0622
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Fayette
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Lake
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Weakley
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Facsimile: (901) 372-1294
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Note: Claimants and secured parties may file at the Legal
Division-Nashville address for any property seizure pursuant to the Act,
regardless of the county of seizure.
(5) Cost Bonds. A
claim shall have a valid
cost bond or no contested case proceeding will commence. The following will be
considered a valid cost bond:
(a) Money order
or cashier's check.
(b) Attorney's
check. Only checks from an attorney licensed to practice law in the State of
Tennessee will be accepted.
(c)
Surety. The commissioner may accept a surety signed by an attorney licensed to
practice in the State of Tennessee, a bond from a licensed bonding company
approved by the commissioner, or a corporate surety bond.
(d) Pauper's Oath. Any individual claimant
may file a claim without filing a cost bond if the individual claimant submits
the Pauper's Oath forms, properly completed, signed and notarized, provided by
the Department. The factors that will be considered by the department in
determining indigence are yearly income, the value of real and personal
property owned, debts, other household income, and whether or not
the claimant has hired an attorney to represent the claimant.
(e) To be a valid cost bond, any of the above
bonds must be filed with the Legal Division, and not with the seizing
agency.
(f) If a cost bond or a
pauper's oath is rejected, then
claimant shall have ten (10) days from receipt
of notification by Certified United States Mail Return Receipt Requested, or 10
days from the return to the department of the unclaimed notice:
1. To request a hearing on the improper cost
bond or pauper's oath. Failure to request a hearing is deemed a waiver of
claimant's right to a hearing on the improper cost bond or pauper's oath and
shall result in rejection of the claim; or
2. To provide a proper cost bond.
(6) Debarment. No
check, surety, or bond shall be accepted from any attorney or bonding company
that has failed to pay costs pursuant to a previous cost bond within thirty
(30) days of notice by the department to pay. A claim accompanied by a cost
bond from a debarred attorney or bonding company shall not commence a contested
case proceeding.
(7) Bonding Out
Seized Property. Bond for release of
seized property for safekeeping purposes
only shall consist of the following:
(a)
Pending any
contested case proceeding to recover a vehicle, aircraft or boat,
the commissioner may bond out such seized property for its retail value per the
N.A.D.A., Southeastern Edition for vehicles and boats and per a source approved
by the commissioner for airplanes to a
claimant who has established a right to
immediate possession. The bond may be revoked at the discretion of the
commissioner.
1. If the property seized was
other than the property stated above, the bond shall be in an amount equal to
two times the retail value of the property.
2. If the property seized was a motor vehicle
titled in the name of one or more persons who are not secured parties, the bond
shall be in an amount equal to the N.A.D.A., Southeastern Edition, retail value
of the vehicle.
(b) A
secured party may obtain immediate possession of the seized property by
executing a bond in an amount equal to two (2) times the retail value of the
property or by executing an annual bond or letter of credit with a regulated
financial institution in the amount of twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000).
Upon submitting proof of such bond or letter of credit, the department or
seizing agency shall release the property to the secured party.
(c) The following will be considered valid
bonds:
1. Cashier's check or money
order.
2. Bond from a bonding
company licensed in the State of Tennessee and approved by the
commissioner.
3. An annual bond or
letter of credit with a regulated financial institution in the amount of
twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) submitted by a secured party.
(d) Bonded out property shall be
returned in the same condition as of the date of the bond-out order. If the
bonded out property is returned in worse condition or not at all, at any
settlement or contested case hearing, the bond shall be substituted for the
bonded out property.
