IN REM
[Latin, In the thing itself.] A lawsuit against an
item of property, not against a person (in per-
sonam).
An action in rem is a proceeding that takes
no notice of the owner of the property but
determines rights in the property that are con-
clusive against all the world. For example, an
action to determine whether certain property
illegally imported into the United States ought
to be forfeited can be captioned United States v.
Thirty-nine Thousand One Hundred and Fifty
Cigars. The object of the lawsuit is to determine
the disposition of the property, regardless of
who the owner is or who else might have an
interest in it. Interested parties might appear
and make out a case one way or another, but the
action is in rem, against the things.
In rem lawsuits can be brought against the
property of debtors in order to collect what is
owed, and they are begun for the partition of
real property, foreclosure of mortgages, and the
enforcement of liens. They may be directed
against real or PERSONAL PROPERTY. In rem
actions are permitted only when the court has
control of the property or where its authority
extends to cover it. For example, the courts in
Kansas may determine rights to a farm in
Kansas, but not the ownership of a cannery
in Texas. The in rem jurisdiction of a court may
be exercised only after parties who are known to
have an interest in the property are notified of
the proceedings and have been given a chance to
