(a) All property, both personal and real, including money, vehicles, and other property used, or intended for use, in the course of, derived from, or realized through conduct in violation of this part, is subject to seizure and forfeiture to the state.
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Terms Used In Tennessee Code 39-13-810

  • Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
  • Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
  • Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
  • Defendant: means a person accused of an offense under this title and includes any person who aids or abets the commission of such offense. See Tennessee Code 39-11-106
  • Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Owner: means a person, other than the defendant, who has possession of or any interest other than a mortgage, deed of trust or security interest in property, even though that possession or interest is unlawful and without whose consent the defendant has no authority to exert control over the property. See Tennessee Code 39-11-106
  • Person: includes the singular and the plural and means and includes any individual, firm, partnership, copartnership, association, corporation, governmental subdivision or agency, or other organization or other legal entity, or any agent or servant thereof. See Tennessee Code 39-11-106
  • Personal property: All property that is not real property.
  • Personal property: includes money, goods, chattels, things in action, and evidences of debt. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Property: means anything of value, including, but not limited to, money, real estate, tangible or intangible personal property, including anything severed from land, library material, contract rights, choses-in-action, interests in or claims to wealth, credit, admission or transportation tickets, captured or domestic animals, food and drink, electric or other power. See Tennessee Code 39-11-106
  • Remainder: An interest in property that takes effect in the future at a specified time or after the occurrence of some event, such as the death of a life tenant.
  • Restitution: The court-ordered payment of money by the defendant to the victim for damages caused by the criminal action.
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
(b)

(1) The following people or agencies may make a claim with the court where the conviction occurs for reimbursement for damages caused by or costs associated with the investigation and prosecution of the criminal violations, or the seizure and forfeiture of property under this part:

(A) Any person who suffers personal injury or property damage from the offense or any person entitled to bring suit pursuant to § 20-5-106 for death resulting from the offense; or
(B) The law enforcement agency or other governmental agency that participated in the investigation, mitigation, or prosecution of the criminal offense or that participated in the seizure and forfeiture.
(2) No interest in real or personal property, money, or other assets seized shall be subject to forfeiture pursuant to this section if the court finds at least one (1) of the following:

(A) The owner or interest holder acquired the property before the conduct alleged to give rise to its forfeiture; or
(B) The owner or interest holder acquired the property during or after the conduct alleged to give rise to its forfeiture, and the owner or interest holder acquired this interest as a good faith purchaser for value, or acquired this interest in a commercially reasonable manner, and the owner or interest holder:

(i) Acted reasonably to prevent the conduct giving rise to forfeiture; or
(ii) Did not know of the acts giving rise to forfeiture.
(3) No interest in real or personal property, money, or any other item subject to forfeiture under this section shall be seized or forfeited, unless the owner or interest holder is convicted of a crime or crimes prohibited by this part. If the owner or interest holder is an entity other than a natural person, the property shall not be forfeited unless the entity’s officer, employee, or agent is convicted of the crime or crimes under this part, and the state shall also have the burden to establish beyond a reasonable doubt the following additional elements:

(A) The conviction is based on acts by the defendant in the course of and within the scope of the defendant‘s employment; and
(B) The entity knew or had reason to know from information in the entity’s possession, other than through its convicted officer, employee, or agent, of the criminal nature of the acts.
(4) If the owner or interest holder in the seized property is not convicted of a violation of this part and is no longer subject to prosecution for the conduct giving rise to the forfeiture action, the property shall be returned to the owner or interest holder, unless the property is otherwise subject to forfeiture. The owner or interest holder may subsequently file a petition with the court that had jurisdiction over the forfeiture claim to recover reasonable attorney’s fees and any actual damages resulting from the seizure and forfeiture proceedings.
(c) The state may stipulate that the interest of an owner or interest holder is exempt from forfeiture upon presentation of proof of the claim as provided in § 39-11-704.
(d) All property seized and forfeited pursuant to this section shall be sold at public auction, and the proceeds from the sale shall be distributed as follows:

(1) Any victim of the offense may file a claim with the court prior to the defendant’s determination of guilt. Any claim the court finds to be verified and a result of the offense shall be approved by the court and paid first from the proceeds. The court shall determine the proper amount of damages using the restitution procedure in § 40-35-304, but this section and § 39-13-811 shall prevail with regard to the scope of damages for which a victim may claim;
(2) The costs of investigation shall be paid to the law enforcement agency or governmental agency that conducted the investigation; provided:

(A) If more than one (1) law enforcement agency or governmental agency equally conducted the investigation, the costs of investigation shall be paid equally to the law enforcement agencies and governmental agencies conducting the investigation; and
(B) If one (1) law enforcement agency or governmental agency primarily conducted the investigation, the costs of investigation first shall be paid to that law enforcement agency or governmental agency, with actual vouchered costs reimbursed on a pro rata basis to the other law enforcement agencies or governmental agencies participating in the investigation, not to exceed ten percent (10%) of the costs of investigation allocated to the primary law enforcement agency or governmental agency;
(3) The remainder of the proceeds shall be paid on a pro rata basis to a law enforcement agency or governmental agency that participated in the mitigation, seizure, or forfeiture process.
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