21 U.S.C. § 673
Section 673 · Seizure and condemnation
Amended 3 times on record
Applied in 7 court decisions — leading case United States v. Boxes of Boned Beef Weighing Approximately Pounds (1984)
Most recently applied in 7 Cl. Ct. 329 - Jarboe-Lackey Feedlots, Inc. v. United States (January 1985)
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year.Markers show enactment, consequential amendments, and circuit splits over this section — watch for a citation surge after a change or a disagreement. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
(1) Any carcass, part of a carcass, meat or meat food product of cattle, sheep, swine, goats, horses, mules or other equines, or any dead, dying, disabled, or diseased cattle, sheep, swine, goat, or equine, that is being transported in commerce or otherwise subject to subchapter I or II of this chapter, or is held for sale in the United States after such transportation, and that (A) is or has been prepared, sold, transported, or otherwise distributed or offered or received for distribution in violation of this chapter, or (B) is capable of use as human food and is adulterated or misbranded, or (C) in any other way is in violation of this chapter, shall be liable to be proceeded against and seized and condemned, at any time, on a libel of information in any United States district court or other proper court as provided in section 674 of this title within the jurisdiction of which the article or animal is found.
(2) If the article or animal is condemned it shall, after entry of the decree, (A) be distributed in accordance with paragraph (5), or (B) be disposed of by destruction or sale as the court may direct and the proceeds, if sold, less the court costs and fees, and storage and other proper expenses, shall be paid into the Treasury of the United States, but the article or animal shall not be sold contrary to the provisions of this chapter, or the laws of the jurisdiction in which it is sold: Provided, That upon the execution and delivery of a good and sufficient bond conditioned that the article or animal shall not be sold or otherwise disposed of contrary to the provisions of this chapter, or the laws of the jurisdiction in which disposal is made, the court may direct that such article or animal be delivered to the owner thereof subject to such supervision by authorized representatives of the Secretary as is necessary to insure compliance with the applicable laws.
(3) When a decree of condemnation is entered against the article or animal and it is released under bond, or destroyed, court costs and fees, and storage and other proper expenses shall be awarded against the person, if any, intervening as claimant of the article or animal.
(4) The proceedings in such libel cases shall conform, as nearly as may be, to the proceedings in admiralty, except that either party may demand trial by jury of any issue of fact joined in any case, and all such proceedings shall be at the suit of and in the name of the United States.
(5)(A) An article that is condemned under paragraph (1) may as the court may direct, after entry of the decree, be distributed without charge to nonprofit, private entities or to Federal, State, or local government entities engaged in the distribution of food without charge to individuals, if such article—
(i) has been inspected under this chapter and found to be wholesome and not to be adulterated within the meaning of paragraphs (1) through (7) and (9) of section 601(m) of this title and a determination is made at the time of the entry of the decree that such article is wholesome and not so adulterated; and
(ii) is plainly marked “Not for Sale” on such article or its container.
(B) The United States may not be held legally responsible for any article that is distributed under subparagraph (A) to a nonprofit, private entity or to a Federal, State, or local government entity, if such article—
(i) was found after inspection under this chapter to be wholesome and not adulterated within the meaning of paragraphs (1) through (7) and (9) of section 601(m) of this title and a determination was made at the time of the entry of the decree that such article was wholesome and not so adulterated; and
(ii) was plainly marked “Not for Sale” on such article or its container.
(C) The person from whom such article was seized and condemned may not be held legally responsible for such article, if such article—
(i) was found after inspection under this chapter to be wholesome and not adulterated within the meaning of paragraphs (1) through (7) and (9) of section 601(m) of this title and a determination was made at the time of the entry of the decree that such article was wholesome and not so adulterated; and
(ii) was plainly marked “Not for Sale” on such article or its container.
The provisions of this section shall in no way derogate from authority for condemnation or seizure conferred by other provisions of this chapter, or other laws.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
Amendments
1989—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 101–205 designated first sentence as par. (1) and redesignated cls. (1) to (3) as cls. (A) to (C), respectively, designated second sentence as par. (2) and inserted “(A) to be distributed in accordance with paragraph (5), or (B)” after “entry of the decree,”, designated third and fourth sentences as pars. (3) and (4), respectively, and added par. (5).
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure
Admiralty and maritime rules of practice (which included libel procedures) were superseded, and civil and admiralty procedures in United States district courts were unified, effective July 1, 1966, see rule 1 and Supplemental Rules for Certain Admiralty and Maritime Claims, Title 28, Appendix, Judiciary and Judicial Procedure.