Section 3105 - Sequestration(a) PROPERTY SUBJECT TO SEQUESTRATION.-(1) Any income from property in which the debtor has a substantial nonexempt interest may be sequestered pursuant to a writ of sequestration in an action or proceeding against a debtor on a claim for a debt and may be held as security to satisfy such judgment, and interest and costs, as the United States may recover on such claim.(2) The amount of income sequestered shall not exceed the amount by which the sum of the amount of the debt claimed by the United States and the amount of interest and costs reasonably likely to be assessed against the debtor by the court exceeds the aggregate value of the nonexempt interest of the debtor in any-(B) property attached, garnished, or in receivership under this subchapter.(b) AVAILABILITY OF SEQUESTRATION.-If the requirements of section 3101 are satisfied, a court shall issue a writ authorizing the United States to sequester income from property in which the debtor has a substantial nonexempt interest, as security for such judgment (and interest and costs) as the United States may recover on a claim for a debt-(1) in an action on a contract, express or implied, against the debtor for payment of money, only if the United States shows reasonable cause to believe that-(A) the contract is not fully secured by real or personal property; or(B) the value of the original security is substantially diminished, without any act of the United States or the person to whom the security was given, below the amount of the debt;(2) in an action against the debtor for damages in tort;(4) in an action to recover a fine, penalty, or tax.(c) ISSUANCE OF WRIT; CONTENTS.-(1) Subject to subsections (a) and (b), a writ of sequestration shall be issued by the court directing the United States marshal of the district where income described in subsection (a) is located to sequester the income.(2) Several writs of sequestration may be issued at the same time, or in succession, and sent to different judicial districts until sufficient income is sequestered.(3) The writ of sequestration shall contain-(A) the date of the issuance of the writ;(B) the identity of the court, the docket number of the action, and the identity of the cause of action;(C) the name and last known address of the debtor;(D) the amount to be secured by the sequestration; and(E) a reasonable description of the income to be sequestered.(d) EXECUTION OF WRIT.-(2) The United States marshal shall file a copy of the notice of sequestration in the same manner as provided for judgments in section 3201(a)(1). The United States marshal shall serve a copy of the writ and notice of sequestration on-(A) the debtor against whom the writ is issued; and(B) the person who has possession of the income subject to the writ;in the same manner that a summons is served in a civil action and make the return thereof.
(e) DEPOSIT OF SEQUESTERED INCOME.-A person who has possession of the income subject to a writ of sequestration shall deposit such income with the clerk of the court, accompanied by a statement in writing stating the person's name, the name of the debtor, the amount of such income, the property from which such income is produced, and the period during which such income is produced.(f) RETURN OF WRIT; DUTIES OF MARSHAL; FURTHER RETURN.-(1) A United States marshal executing a writ of sequestration shall return the writ with the marshal's action endorsed thereon or attached thereto and signed by the marshal, to the court from which it was issued, within 5 days after the date of the execution.(2) The return shall describe the income sequestered with sufficient certainty to identify it and shall state the location where it was sequestered, and the date and time it was sequestered. If no income was sequestered, the return shall so state.(3) If sequestered income is claimed after the return, the United States marshal shall immediately make a further return to the clerk of the court showing the disposition of the income.(g) REDUCTION OR DISSOLUTION OF SEQUESTRATION.-(1) If an excessive or unreasonable sequestration is made, the debtor may submit a motion to the court for a reduction of the amount of the sequestration or its dissolution. Notice of such motion shall be served on the United States.(2) The court shall order a part of the income to be released, if after a hearing the court finds that the amount of the sequestration is excessive or unreasonable or if the sequestration is for an amount larger than the sum of the liquidated or ascertainable amount of the debt and the amount of interest and costs likely to be taxed.(3) The court shall dissolve the sequestration if the amount of the debt is unliquidated and unascertainable by calculation.(h) PRESERVATION OF INCOME UNDER SEQUESTER.-If personal property in custody of the United States marshal under a writ of sequestration is not claimed, the court may make such order for its preservation or use as appears to be in the interest of the parties.(i) JUDGMENT AND DISPOSITION OF SEQUESTERED INCOME.-(2) RESTORATION OF INCOME.-If the sequestration is vacated or if the judgment on the claim for the debt is for the person against whom the writ of sequestration is issued, the court shall order the income restored to the debtor.Added Pub. L. 101-647, §3611, 104 Stat. 4946.STATUTORY NOTES AND RELATED SUBSIDIARIES
EFFECTIVE DATESection effective 180 days after Nov. 29, 1990, and applicable with respect to certain actions for debts owed the United States pending in court on that effective date, see section 3631 of Pub. L. 101-647, set out as a note under section 3001 of this title.
- Court
- "Court" means any court created by the Congress of the United States, excluding the United States Tax Court.
- Debt
- "Debt" means-(A) an amount that is owing to the United States on account of a direct loan, or loan insured or guaranteed, by the United States; or(B) an amount that is owing to the United States on account of a fee, duty, lease, rent, service, sale of real or personal property, overpayment, fine, assessment, penalty, restitution, damages, interest, tax, bail bond forfeiture, reimbursement, recovery of a cost incurred by the United States, or other source of indebtedness to the United States, but that is not owing under the terms of a contract originally entered into by only persons other than the United States;and includes any amount owing to the United States for the benefit of an Indian tribe or individual Indian, but excludes any amount to which the United States is entitled under section 3011(a).
- Debtor
- "Debtor" means a person who is liable for a debt or against whom there is a claim for a debt.
- Judgment
- "Judgment" means a judgment, order, or decree entered in favor of the United States in a court and arising from a civil or criminal proceeding regarding a debt.
- Person
- "Person" includes a natural person (including an individual Indian), a corporation, a partnership, an unincorporated association, a trust, or an estate, or any other public or private entity, including a State or local government or an Indian tribe.
- Property
- "Property" includes any present or future interest, whether legal or equitable, in real, personal (including choses in action), or mixed property, tangible or intangible, vested or contingent, wherever located and however held (including community property and property held in trust (including spendthrift and pension trusts)), but excludes-(A) property held in trust by the United States for the benefit of an Indian tribe or individual Indian; and(B) Indian lands subject to restrictions against alienation imposed by the United States.
- State
- "State" means any of the several States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas, or any territory or possession of the United States.
- United States marshal
- "United States marshal" means a United States marshal, a deputy marshal, or an official of the United States Marshals Service designated under section 564.
- United States
- "United States" means-(A) a Federal corporation;(B) an agency, department, commission, board, or other entity of the United States; or(C) an instrumentality of the United States.