(a) If the state meets its burden of proof, any tool, implement, or instrumentality used:

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Terms Used In Tennessee Code 55-5-205

  • Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
  • Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • Motor vehicle: includes every device in, upon, or by which any person or property may be transported or drawn upon a highway, that is self-propelled or which may be connected to and towed by a self-propelled device, and shall also include any and all devices which are self-propelled but are not designed for use upon a highway, including, but not limited to, farm machinery, construction equipment, and water craft. See Tennessee Code 55-5-202
  • Owner: means a person who holds the legal title of a vehicle, or in the event a vehicle is the subject of an agreement for the conditional sale or lease thereof, with the right of purchase upon performance of the conditions stated in the agreement and with an immediate right of possession vested in the conditional vendee or lessee, or in the event a mortgagor of a vehicle is entitled to possession, then the conditional vendee or lessee or mortgagor shall be deemed the owner for the purpose of this chapter and chapter 10, parts 1-5 of this title. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101
  • Person: includes a natural person, company, corporation, unincorporated association, partnership, professional corporation, and any other legal entity. See Tennessee Code 55-5-202
  • Property: includes both personal and real property. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Record: means information that is inscribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in a perceivable form. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • 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
  • Vehicle: means every device in, upon or by which any person or property is or may be transported or drawn upon a highway, excepting devices used exclusively upon stationary rails or tracks. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101
  • Vehicle identification number: means :
    (A) A number or numbers, a letter or set of letters, a character or set of characters, a derivative or derivatives, or a combination thereof, used by the manufacturer for the purpose of uniquely identifying a motor vehicle or motor vehicle component part. See Tennessee Code 55-5-202
(1) To alter, destroy, disassemble, dismantle, or reassemble a stolen motor vehicle or stolen motor vehicle component parts;
(2) To alter, counterfeit, deface, destroy, forge, obliterate, or remove the motor vehicle identification number; or
(3) In the transportation, disposal, or sale of stolen motor vehicles or stolen motor vehicle component parts,

shall be forfeited in accordance with this part.

(b) The district attorney general in the county in which the seizure occurs shall bring an action for forfeiture in either chancery or circuit court. The forfeiture action shall be brought within sixty (60) days from the date of seizure.
(c) The clerk of the court shall give notice of the forfeiture proceedings by mailing a certified copy of the complaint in the forfeiture proceedings and instructions on how the action for forfeiture may be contested to each person whose right, title, or interest is of record.
(d) Notice of the proceedings shall be given to any other person as may appear from the facts and circumstances to have any right, title or interest in or to the property.
(e) The owner of the property, or any person claiming an ownership or security interest, may within fourteen (14) days after the certified mailing of the notice, file a verified answer to the complaint and may appear at the hearing on the action for forfeiture.
(f) The district attorney general shall prove by a preponderance of the evidence that the property was used in the commission of a violation of this part, or was possessed to facilitate the violation.
(g) Failure to carry the burden of proof shall operate as a bar to any forfeiture, and the property shall be immediately returned to the person in possession.
(h) If the state meets its burden of proof, the court may order that:

(1) The property be destroyed by the agency that seized it or by some other agency designated by the court;
(2) The property be retained for use by the seizing agency in furtherance of vehicle theft investigations; or
(3) The property be sold and the proceeds are to be used by the seizing agency for vehicle theft investigations only.
(i) Notwithstanding subsection (h), if property is forfeited pursuant to this section and a person claiming a security interest has filed an answer as required by subsection (e), the property shall be forfeited subject to the secured party’s interest.
(j) If the property was seized as a result of a joint operation between two (2) or more agencies, the proceeds will be divided between all agencies.
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