United States v. East Half (E½) Section Twelve (12), Township Nineteen (19) North, Range Fifty-Five (55) West of 6th P.M., Banner County

131 F.R.D. 171, 1990 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 7525, 1990 WL 84783
CourtDistrict Court, D. Nebraska
DecidedFebruary 5, 1990
DocketNo. CV87-L-611
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 131 F.R.D. 171 (United States v. East Half (E½) Section Twelve (12), Township Nineteen (19) North, Range Fifty-Five (55) West of 6th P.M., Banner County) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Nebraska primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. East Half (E½) Section Twelve (12), Township Nineteen (19) North, Range Fifty-Five (55) West of 6th P.M., Banner County, 131 F.R.D. 171, 1990 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 7525, 1990 WL 84783 (D. Neb. 1990).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

DAVID L. PIESTER, United States Magistrate.

Pursuant to an order of this court, Phyllis Kappen (Phyllis) has filed a showing of cause why her motion to intervene should not be barred under Rule C(6) of the Supplemental Rules for Certain Admiralty and Maritime Claims. (Filing 35). The United States has filed a “request for determination,” filing 39, which is essentially a series of allegations that Phyllis’ showing is not adequate. For the reasons set forth below, I conclude that Phyllis has shown cause [173]*173why her petition should not be barred by Rule C(6), and I shall grant her motion to intervene as a claimant in this action. I further conclude, for the reasons set forth below, that Phyllis’ “motion to stay lis pen-dens,” filing 26, which had been held in abeyance pending her showing of cause, should be denied.

I.

This is a forfeiture action under 21 U.S.C. § 881. The complaint alleged that Roy Henry Happen (Roy) was the record owner of the defendant property and Dale Shaul was the beneficiary of a deed of trust against the property. In December of 1987, Roy and Shaul were served with notice of the action and the seizure of the property by certified mail; a warrant for the arrest of the property was issued by the clerk of this court pursuant to Rule C(3) of the Supplemental Rules for Certain Admiralty and Maritime Claims and recorded in the office of the Register of Deeds of Banner County. Roy and Shaul filed claims to the property and answered the complaint.

In February of 1988, this court stayed this action pending the resolution of criminal proceedings against Roy in the County Court of Banner County. The stay was dissolved in October of 1988. The United States moved for summary judgment shortly thereafter, and that motion was denied in March of 1989.

Phyllis filed a “motion to intervene” in May of 1989. (Filing 24). The motion asserted an interest in the defendant property, and was therefore treated as a motion for leave to file a claim out of time under Rule C(6). In an earlier memorandum, I concluded Phyllis had standing to file a claim, that is, she had an interest in the defendant property. The original motion did not provide any reason why her claim was not timely filed. Under Rule C(6), a claim must be filed within ten days of the execution of process, unless the court allows additional time. In ordering Phyllis to show cause for the delay in the filing of the claim, I concluded the showing must address three factors: (1) whether she was aware that her husband was served with process in December of 1987; (2) if not, the time she first learned of the forfeiture action; (3) the reason for any delay between that time and the filing of her motion in May of 1989.

The showing of cause contains the following allegations. Phyllis states that in December of 1987, Roy received an assortment of legal mail from courts and attorneys. Since she was not generally involved in the business and financial matters of her husband’s farming operation, she did not read this mail and assumed that it related to the criminal actions against Roy. She further states that Roy did not inform her of the forfeiture action until May of 1989, and that immediately thereafter, she filed her motion in this court.

For its part, the United States argues that Phyllis’ showing of cause is not adequate. From a review of the file in this matter, it appears this argument is based on incorrect information. The United States alleges that Phyllis did not serve her showing of cause on its attorney, but that it was able to obtain a copy of the documents filed by her through the clerk of this court. The United States makes reference to a deed of trust and a real estate transfer statement which, according to it, were filed as exhibits to Phyllis’ showing of cause. The United States asserts that these documents do nothing to address the three issues identified in my earlier order. These documents are included in the file in this matter, but they were part of Phyllis’ original motion, not her showing of cause. The deed of trust and the transfer statement do not directly pertain to the issues identified in my previous order. However, Phyllis’ showing of cause does address those issues, although it appears counsel for the United States may not have actually seen that document.1

[174]*174The United States also claims that the deed of trust and transfer statement do not create any sort of interest in favor of Phyllis in the defendant property. This necessitates some recapitulation of the nature of Phyllis’ interest. I agree that it does not stem from these documents. However, Nebraska law does give Phyllis an interest. Neb.Rev.Stat. § 30-2313 gives a surviving spouse the right to take a share of a deceased spouse’s real estate, in lieu of what he or she may receive under a will. Under former law, which essentially provided for a similar right of election, the Nebraska Supreme Court stated that this right gave a wife “an interest in the real estate of her husband which he cannot alienate without her consent.” Sadler v. Sadler, 184 Neb. 318, 322, 167 N.W.2d 187, 190 (1969). The only reported federal decision discussing this issue indicated, although it did not decide, that a statute providing for the distribution of property between spouses could create an interest sufficient to give a spouse standing to assert a claim in a forfeiture action. United States v. One Piece of Real Property Located on Trafalgar Street, 700 F.Supp. 857, 862 n. 5 (D.S.C.1988). On the basis of these authorities, I have previously concluded Phyllis had an interest in the property. The fact that this interest is not created by the deed of trust and transfer statement, which was discussed in my earlier memorandum, does nothing to alter that conclusion.

A person cannot be deprived of property without due process of law. The fundamental requisites of due process are notice and an opportunity to be heard. Goldberg v. Kelly, 397 U.S. 254, 267, 90 S.Ct. 1011, 1020, 25 L.Ed.2d 287 (1970). No one contends that Phyllis was directly notified of this action through personal or mailed service of process. In addition to the certified mail notice to Roy and Shaul, the only other notification given was the publication of a notice in the Scottsbluff Star-Herald, a newspaper of general circulation in Banner County. See filing 10. However, this publication is not sufficient notice to an individual whose name and address are known or easily ascertainable. Robinson v. Hanrahan, 409 U.S. 38, 40, 93 S.Ct. 30, 31, 34 L.Ed.2d 47 (1972). It appears that Phyllis could have been served with direct notice of the action as easily as her husband.

Record title to the property was not in Phyllis’ name. As noted above, and discussed in my earlier memorandum, her signature of the deed of trust does not create a property interest in her favor, and there appears to be no other document of record suggesting that she holds title to the property. However, the presence of Phyllis’ signature on the deed of trust, and the language in the document indicating that she was then the wife of Roy are significant. They show that Roy had a spouse at the time of the execution of the deed and identify that spouse.

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131 F.R.D. 171, 1990 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 7525, 1990 WL 84783, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-east-half-e12-section-twelve-12-township-nineteen-19-ned-1990.