California Health and Safety Code

§ 11488.5

HSC § 11488.5 Effective Jan 1, 2024Div. 10 · Ch. 8

Statute text

(a)(1) Any person claiming an interest in the property seized pursuant to Section 11488 may, unless for good cause shown the court extends the time for filing, at any time within 30 days from the date of the last publication of the notice of seizure, if that person was not personally served or served by mail, or within 30 days after receipt of actual notice, file with the superior court of the county in which the defendant has been charged with the underlying or related criminal offense or in which the property was seized or, if there was no seizure, in which the property is located, a claim, verified in accordance with Section 446 of the Code of Civil Procedure, stating the claimant’s interest in the property. An endorsed copy of the claim shall be served by the claimant on the Attorney General or district attorney, as appropriate, within 30 days of the filing of the claim. The Judicial Council shall develop and approve official forms for the verified claim that is to be filed pursuant to this section. The official forms shall be drafted in nontechnical language, in English and in Spanish, and shall be made available through the office of the clerk of the appropriate court. A claim under this section is an unlimited civil case, regardless of the value of the seized property.

(2)Any person who claims that the property was assigned to that person prior to the seizure or notification of pending forfeiture of the property under this chapter, whichever occurs last, shall file a claim with the court and prosecuting agency pursuant to Section 11488.5 declaring an interest in that property and that interest shall be adjudicated at the forfeiture hearing. The property shall remain under control of the law enforcement or prosecutorial agency until the adjudication of the forfeiture hearing. Seized property shall be protected and its value shall be preserved pending the outcome of the forfeiture proceedings.

(3)Notwithstanding any other law, the clerk of the court shall not charge or collect a fee for the filing of a claim in any case in which the value of the respondent property as specified in the notice is five thousand dollars ($5,000) or less. If the value of the property, as specified in the notice, is more than five thousand dollars ($5,000), the clerk of the court shall charge the filing fee specified in Section 70611 of the Government Code.

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Legislative history

Amended by Stats. 2023, Ch. 478, Sec. 55. (AB 1756) Effective January 1, 2024.