§ 8.01-116.Return of property to defendant or other claimant.

Section 8.01-116 gives the person who lost possession a way to get the property back while the case is still pending. The defendant, or any other person claiming title to seized property, may have it returned at any time after the seizure by executing a bond, with sufficient surety approved by the officer, payable to the plaintiff, in a penalty at least double the estimated value of the property. That bond has to promise two things: paying whatever costs and damages the court awards against the defendant, along with any damages someone suffers because the property was returned, and having the property forthcoming to answer any judgment or order the court later enters. Once the officer receives the bond and delivers it to the clerk’s office, the officer must immediately return the property to the defendant, claimant, or whoever it was taken from.

The court can soften those terms. On the defendant’s application, after reasonable notice to the plaintiff or the plaintiff’s attorney, the judge may order the property returned on lesser security and on whatever terms are just and reasonable given the circumstances of the case.

If no bond or security is ever delivered, the officer keeps the property. The exception is perishable or expensive-to-keep property, which the court can order sold in the same way property is sold under execution — turning it into proceeds rather than letting it decay or accumulate storage costs while the case runs its course.