United States v. Rodriguez-Perez, _ F. Supp. 3d _, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 6413 (S.D.N.Y., Jan 11, 2019) (Swain, J.)

On an issue of first impression, the court ruled that the relation-back of mortgage assignments under New York State law gave the client a superior interest in the property because the original mortgage predated the government’s interest under the relation-back provision of 853(c), finding correctly that state law reflects the party’s interest in the property, even in federal criminal forfeiture cases.