Fuentes v. Shevin

Fuentes v. Shevin, 407 U.S. 67 (1972), was a case decided by the Supreme Court of the United States wherein petitioners challenged the constitutionality of the Uniform Commercial Code provisions of two states, Florida and Pennsylvania, which allowed for the summary seizure of a person's goods or chattels under a writ of replevin. The statutes were challenged under the Fourteenth Amendment. The Court held that the statutes acted as deprivations of plaintiff's property without due process.

Fuentes v. Shevin
Supreme Court of the United States
Argued November 9, 1971 Decided June 12, 1972
Full case name	Fuentes v. Shevin, Attorney General of Florida, et al.
Citations	407 U.S. 67 (more) 92 S. Ct. 1983; 32 L. Ed. 2d 556; 1972 U.S. LEXIS 42; 10 U.C.C. Rep. Serv. (Callaghan) 913
Holding
Statutes in Florida and Pennsylvania that allowed for the repossession of petitioners' property without prior notice or hearing violated the Fourteenth Amendment's guarantee of procedural due process.
Court membership
Chief Justice Warren E. Burger Associate Justices William O. Douglas · William J. Brennan Jr. Potter Stewart · Byron White Thurgood Marshall · Harry Blackmun Lewis F. Powell Jr. · William Rehnquist
Case opinions
Majority	Stewart, joined by Douglas, Brennan, Marshall
Dissent	White, joined by Burger, Blackmun
Powell and Rehnquist took no part in the consideration or decision of the case.
Laws applied
U.S. Const. Am. XIV

The Court noted that seizure without notice and the opportunity for a hearing is acceptable only under limited circumstances:

1. The seizure is necessary for an important public or government interest,
2. There is a need for prompt action, and
3. The seizure is initiated by an agent of the government.

These exceptions would apply (for example) when property is tainted food, misbranded drugs or unpaid taxes needed to fund a war.