23-5-181. Petition -- summons -- service -- answer. (1) A peace officer that seizes personal property under 23-5-180 shall within 45 days of the seizure file a petition to institute forfeiture proceedings with the clerk of the district court of the county in which the seizure occurred. The clerk shall issue a summons, which the petitioning party shall by one of the following methods serve upon each owner or claimant of the personal property:
     (a) upon an owner or claimant whose name and address are known, by personal service of a copy of the petition and summons as provided in the Montana Rules of Civil Procedure;
     (b) upon an owner or claimant whose address is unknown but who is believed to have an interest in the property, by publication of the summons in one issue of a newspaper of general circulation in the county where the seizure occurred or, if there is no such newspaper, by publication in one issue of a newspaper of general circulation in an adjoining county and by mailing a copy of the petition and summons to the most recent address of the owner or claimant, if any, shown in the records of the department.
     (2) Within 20 days after service under subsection (1), the owner or claimant of the seized property may file a verified answer to the allegations concerning the use of the property described in the petition. An extension of time for filing the answer may not be granted. Failure to answer within 20 days bars the owner or claimant from presenting evidence at any subsequent evidentiary hearing unless extraordinary circumstances exist.

     History: En. Sec. 2, Ch. 134, L. 2005.