§ 4309.
Claims to property transferred to custodian; notice of claim; filing; return of property; suits to recover; sale of claimed property in time of war or during national emergency
(a)
In general
Any person not an enemy or ally of enemy claiming any interest, right, or title in any money or other property which may have been conveyed, transferred, assigned, delivered, or paid to the Alien Property Custodian or seized by him hereunder and held by him or by the Treasurer of the United States, or to whom any debt may be owing from an enemy or ally of enemy whose property or any part thereof shall have been conveyed, transferred, assigned, delivered, or paid to the Alien Property Custodian or seized by him hereunder and held by him or by the Treasurer of the United States may file with the said custodian a notice of his claim under oath and in such form and containing such particulars as the said custodian shall require; and the President, if application is made therefor by the claimant, may order the payment, conveyance, transfer, assignment, or delivery to said claimant of the money or other property so held by the Alien Property Custodian or by the Treasurer of the United States, or of the interest therein to which the President shall determine said claimant is entitled: Provided, That no such order by the President shall bar any person from the prosecution of any suit at law or in equity against the claimant to establish any right, title, or interest which he may have in such money or other property. If the President shall not so order within sixty days after the filing of such application or if the claimant shall have filed the notice as above required and shall have made no application to the President, said claimant may institute a suit in equity in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia or in the district court of the United States for the district in which such claimant resides, or, if a corporation, where it has its principal place of business (to which suit the Alien Property Custodian or the Treasurer of the United States, as the case may be, shall be made a party defendant), to establish the interest, right, title, or debt so claimed, and if so established the court shall order the payment, conveyance, transfer, assignment, or delivery to said claimant of the money or other property so held by the Alien Property Custodian or by the Treasurer of the United States or the interest therein to which the court shall determine said claimant is entitled. If suit shall be so instituted, then such money or property shall be retained in the custody of the Alien Property Custodian, or in the Treasury of the United States, as provided in this chapter, and until any final judgment or decree which shall be entered in favor of the claimant shall be fully satisfied by payment or conveyance, transfer, assignment, or delivery by the defendant, or by the Alien Property Custodian, or Treasurer of the United States on order of the court, or until final judgment or decree shall be entered against the claimant or suit otherwise terminated: Provided further, That upon a determination made by the President, in time of war or during any national emergency declared by the President, that the interest and welfare of the United States require the sale of any property or interest or any part thereof claimed in any suit filed under this subsection and pending on or after October 22, 1962, the Alien Property Custodian or any successor officer, or agency may sell such property or interest or part thereof, in conformity with law applicable to sales of property by him, at any time prior to the entry of final judgment in such suit. No such sale shall be made until thirty days have passed after the publication of notice in the Federal Register of the intention to sell. The net proceeds of any such sale shall be deposited in a special account established in the Treasury, and shall be held in trust by the Secretary of the Treasury pending the entry of final judgment in such suit. Any recovery of any claimant in any such suit in respect of the property or interest or part thereof so sold shall be satisfied from the net proceeds of such sale unless such claimant, within sixty days after receipt of notice of the amount of net proceeds of sale serves upon the Alien Property Custodian, or any successor officer or agency, and files with the court an election to waive all claims to the net proceeds, or any part thereof, and to claim just compensation instead. If the court finds that the claimant has established an interest, right, or title in any property in respect of which such an election has been served and filed, it shall proceed to determine the amount which will constitute just compensation for such interest, right, or title, and shall order payment to the claimant of the amount so determined. An order for the payment of just compensation hereunder shall be a judgment against the United States and shall be payable first from the net proceeds of the sale in an amount not to exceed the amount the claimant would have received had he elected to accept his proportionate part of the net proceeds of the sale, and the balance, if any, shall be payable in the same manner as are judgments in cases arising under section 1346 of title 28. The Alien Property Custodian or any successor officer or agency shall, immediately upon the entry of final judgment, notify the Secretary of the Treasury of the determination by final judgment of the claimant’s interest and right to the proportionate part of the net proceeds from the sale, and the final determination by judgment of the amount of just compensation in the event the claimant has elected to recover just compensation for the interest in the property he claimed.
(b)
Return of property to certain persons, entities, or Governments; determination by President
In respect of all money or other property conveyed, transferred, assigned, delivered, or paid to the Alien Property Custodian or seized by him hereunder and held by him or by the Treasurer of the United States, if the President shall determine that the owner thereof at the time such money or other property was required to be so conveyed, transferred, assigned, delivered, or paid to the Alien Property Custodian or at the time when it was voluntarily delivered to him or was seized by him was—
(1)
A citizen or subject of any nation or State or free city other than Germany or Austria or Hungary or Austria-Hungary, and is at the time of the return of such money or other property hereunder a citizen or subject of any such nation or State or free city; or
(2)
A woman who, at the time of her marriage, was a subject or citizen of a nation which has remained neutral in the war, or of a nation which was associated with the United States in the prosecution of said war, and who, prior to April 6, 1917, intermarried with a subject or citizen of Germany or Austria-Hungary and that the money or other property concerned was not acquired by such woman, either directly or indirectly from any subject or citizen of Germany or Austria-Hungary subsequent to January 1, 1917; or
(3)
A woman who at the time of her marriage was a citizen of the United States, and who prior to April 6, 1917, intermarried with a subject or citizen of Germany or Austria-Hungary, and that the money or other property concerned, was not acquired by such woman, either directly or indirectly, from any subject or citizen of Germany or Austria-Hungary subsequent to January 1, 1917; or who was a daughter of a resident citizen of the United States and herself a resident or former resident thereof, or the minor daughter or daughters of such woman, she being deceased; or
(3A)
An individual who was at such time a citizen or subject of Germany, Austria, Hungary, or Austria-Hungary, or not a citizen or subject of any nation, state or free city, and that the money or other property concerned was acquired by such individual while a bona fide resident of the United States, and that such individual, on January 1, 1926, and at the time of the return of the money or other property, shall be a bona fide resident of the United States; or
(3B)
Any individual who at such time was not a subject or citizen of Germany, Austria, Hungary, or Austria-Hungary, and who is now a citizen or subject of a neutral or allied country: Provided, however, That nothing contained herein shall be construed as limiting or abrogating any existing rights of an individual under the provisions of this chapter; or
(4)
A citizen or subject of Germany or Austria or Hungary or Austria-Hungary and was at the time of the severance of diplomatic relations between the United States and such nations, respectively, accredited to the United States as a diplomatic or consular officer of any such nation, or the wife or minor child of such officer, and that the money or other property concerned was within the territory of the United States by reason of the service of such officer in such capacity; or
(5)
A citizen or subject of Germany or Austria-Hungary, who by virtue of the provisions of sections 21 to 24 of this title and of the proclamations and regulations thereunder, was transferred, after arrest, into the custody of the War Department of the United States for detention during the war and is at the time of the return of his money or other property hereunder living within the United States; or
(6)
A partnership, association, or other unincorporated body of individuals outside the United States, or a corporation incorporated within any country other than the United States, and was entirely owned at such time by subjects or citizens of nations, States, or free cities other than Germany or Austria or Hungary or Austria-Hungary and is so owned at the time of the return of its money or other property hereunder; or
(7)
The Government of Bulgaria or Turkey, or any political or municipal subdivision thereof; or
(8)
The Government of Germany or Austria or Hungary or Austria-Hungary, and that the money or other property concerned was the diplomatic or consular property of such Government; or
(9)
An individual who was at such time a citizen or subject of Germany, Austria, Hungary, or Austria-Hungary, or who is not a citizen or subject of any nation, State or free city, and that such money or other property, or the proceeds thereof, if the same has been converted, does not exceed in value the sum of $10,000, or although exceeding in value the sum of $10,000 is nevertheless susceptible of division, and the part thereof to be returned hereunder does not exceed in value the sum of $10,000: Provided, That an individual shall not be entitled, under this paragraph, to the return of any money or other property owned by a partnership, association, unincorporated body of individuals, or corporation at the time it was conveyed, transferred, assigned, delivered, or paid to the Alien Property Custodian, or seized by him hereunder; or
(10)
A partnership, association, other unincorporated body of individuals, or corporation, and that it is not otherwise entitled to the return of its money or other property, or any part thereof, under this section, and that such money or other property, or the proceeds thereof, if the same has been converted, does not exceed in value the sum of $10,000, or although exceeding in value the sum of $10,000, is nevertheless susceptible of division, and the part thereof to be returned hereunder does not exceed in value the sum of $10,000; or
(11)
A partnership, association, or other unincorporated body of individuals, having its principal place of business within any country other than Germany, Austria, Hungary, or Austria-Hungary, or a corporation, organized or incorporated within any country other than Germany, Austria, Hungary, or Austria-Hungary, and that the control of, or more than 50 per centum of the interests or voting power in, any such partnership, association, other unincorporated body of individuals, or corporation, was at such time, and is at the time of the return of any money or other property, vested in citizens or subjects of nations, States, or free cities other than Germany, Austria, Hungary, or Austria-Hungary: Provided, however, That this subsection shall not affect any rights which any citizen or subject may have under paragraph (1) of this subsection; or
(12)
A partnership, association, or other unincorporated body of individuals, or a corporation, and was entirely owned at such time by subjects or citizens of nations, States, or free cities other than Austria or Hungary, or Austria-Hungary and is so owned at the time of the return of its money or other property, and has filed the written consent provided for in subsection (m); or
(13)
A partnership, association, or other unincorporated body of individuals, having its principal place of business at such time within any country other than Austria, Hungary, or Austria-Hungary, or a corporation organized or incorporated within any country other than Austria, Hungary, or Austria-Hungary, and that the written consent provided for in subsection (m) has been filed; or
(14)
An individual who at such time was a citizen or subject of Germany or who, at the time of the return of any money or other property, is a citizen or subject of Germany or is not a citizen or subject of any nation, State, or free city, and that the written consent provided for in subsection (m) has been filed; or
(15)
Repealed. [Aug. 6, 1956, ch. 1016, § 3], [70 Stat. 1073].
(16)
An individual, partnership, association, or other unincorporated body of individuals, or a corporation, and that the written consent provided for in subsection (m) has been filed, and that no suit or proceeding against the United States or any agency thereof is pending in respect of such return, and that such individual has filed a written waiver renouncing on behalf of himself, his heirs, successors, and assigns any claim based upon the fact that at the time of such return he was in fact entitled to such return under any other provision of this chapter; or
(17)
A partnership, association, or other unincorporated body of individuals, or a corporation, and was entirely owned at such time by citizens of Austria and is so owned at the time of the return of its money or other property; or
(18)
A partnership, association, or other unincorporated body of individuals, having its principal place of business at such time within Austria, or a corporation organized or incorporated within Austria; or
(19)
An individual who at such time was a citizen of Austria or who, at the time of the return of any money or other property, is a citizen of Austria; or
(20)
A partnership, association, or other unincorporated body of individuals, or a corporation, and was entirely owned at such time by citizens of Hungary and is so owned at the time of the return of its money or other property; or
(21)
A partnership, association, or other unincorporated body of individuals, having its principal place of business at such time within Hungary, or a corporation organized or incorporated within Hungary; or
(22)
An individual who at such time was a citizen of Hungary or who, at the time of the return of any money or other property, is a citizen of Hungary;
Then the President, without any application being made therefor, may order the payment, conveyance, transfer, assignment, or delivery of such money or other property held by the Alien Property Custodian or by the Treasurer of the United States, or of the interest therein to which the President shall determine such person entitled, either to the said owner or to the person by whom said property was conveyed, transferred, assigned, delivered, or paid over to the Alien Property Custodian: Provided, That no person shall be deemed or held to be a citizen or subject of Germany or Austria or Hungary or Austria-Hungary for the purposes of this section, even though he was such citizen or subject at the time first specified in this subsection, if he has become or shall become, ipso facto or through exercise of option, a citizen or subject of any nation or State or free city other than Germany, Austria, or Hungary, (first) under the terms of such treaties of peace as have been or may be concluded subsequent to November 11, 1918, between Germany or Austria or Hungary (of the one part) and the United States and/or three or more of the following-named powers: The British Empire, France, Italy, and Japan (of the other part), or (second) under the terms of such treaties as have been or may be concluded in pursuance of the treaties of peace aforesaid between any nation, State, or free city (of the one part) whose territories, in whole or in part, on August 4, 1914, formed a portion of the territory of Germany or Austria-Hungary and the United States and/or three or more of the following-named powers: The British Empire, France, Italy, and Japan (of the other part). For the purposes of this section any citizen or subject of a State or free city which at the time of the proposed return of money or other property of such citizen or subject hereunder forms a part of the territory of any one of the following nations: Germany, Austria, or Hungary, shall be deemed to be a citizen or subject of such nation. And the receipt of the said owner or of the person by whom said money or other property was conveyed, transferred, assigned, delivered, or paid over to the Alien Property Custodian shall be a full acquittance and discharge of the Alien Property Custodian or the Treasurer of the United States, as the case may be, and of the United States in respect to all claims of all persons heretofore or hereafter claiming any right, title, or interest in said money or other property, or compensation or damages arising from the capture of such money or other property by the President or the Alien Property Custodian: Provided further, however, That except as herein provided no such action by the President shall bar any person from the prosecution of any suit at law or in equity to establish any right, title, or interest which he may have therein.
([Oct. 6, 1917, ch. 106, § 9], [40 Stat. 419]; [July 11, 1919, ch. 6, § 1], [41 Stat. 35]; [June 5, 1920, ch. 241], [41 Stat. 977]; [Feb. 27, 1921, ch. 76], [41 Stat. 1147]; [Dec. 21, 1921, ch. 13], [42 Stat. 351]; [Dec. 27, 1922, ch. 13], [42 Stat. 1065]; [Mar. 4, 1923, ch. 285, § 1], [42 Stat. 1511]; [May 7, 1926, ch. 252], [44 Stat. 406]; [Mar. 10, 1928, ch. 167], §§ 11–14, 20, [45 Stat. 270–273], 277; [June 25, 1936, ch. 804], [49 Stat. 1921]; [Aug. 24, 1937, ch. 745], [50 Stat. 748]; [June 25, 1948, ch. 646, § 32(a)], [62 Stat. 991]; [May 24, 1949, ch. 139, § 127], [63 Stat. 107]; [Aug. 6, 1956, ch. 1016, § 3], [70 Stat. 1073]; [Pub. L. 87–846, title II, § 203], Oct. 22, 1962, [76 Stat. 1113].)