26 U.S.C. § 7424
Section 7424 · Intervention
Amended 2 times on record
Applied in 42 court decisions — leading case Block v. North Dakota Board of University and School Lands North Dakota Board of University and School Lands (1983)
Most recently applied in Municipio de Río Grande y otro v. Adquisición de Finca 27.661 de la Urbanización Industrial Las Flores, del Término Municipal de Río Grande y otros (April 2025)
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.
If the United States is not a party to a civil action or suit, the United States may intervene in such action or suit to assert any lien arising under this title on the property which is the subject of such action or suit. The provisions of section 2410 of title 28 of the United States Code (except subsection (b)) and of section 1444 of title 28 of the United States Code shall apply in any case in which the United States intervenes as if the United States had originally been named a defendant in such action or suit. In any case in which the application of the United States to intervene is denied, the adjudication in such civil action or suit shall have no effect upon such lien.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
Amendments
1966—Pub. L. 89–719 substituted “Intervention” for “Civil action to clear title to property” in section catchline and substituted provisions, set out in a single paragraph, granting the government authority to intervene in a court proceeding to assert any lien arising under this title on property which is the subject of a civil action or suit to which the government is not a party with the same procedural rules to apply as where the government is initially joined properly as a party and with the proceedings to have no effect on the government's lien if the application to intervene is denied, for provisions, formerly set out in three subsections, setting out a procedure by which a person having a lien upon or interest in property referred to in section 7403 could file a civil action to clear title to the property and obtain an adjudication of the matter involved in the same manner as in the case of a civil action filed under section 7403.
Effective Date of 1966 Amendment
Amendment by Pub. L. 89–719 applicable after Nov. 2, 1966, regardless of when the title or lien of the United States arose or when the lien or interest of another person was acquired, with certain exceptions, see section 114(a) to (c) of Pub. L. 89–719, set out as a note under section 6323 of this title.
Civil Actions To Clear Title to Property Commenced Before Nov. 2, 1966
Section 114(d) of Pub. L. 89–719 provided that civil actions commenced before Nov. 2, 1966, to clear title to property pursuant to this section as in effect before Nov. 2, 1966, were to be determined in accord with this section as in effect before Nov. 2, 1966.