If no one files an answer, the court may forfeit the property via:

• A. Default judgment
• B. Summary judgment
• C. Bench trial
• D. Jury trial

Answer: (A)

When a party doesn’t file an answer to a civil complaint, the court can enter a default judgment. This is the procedural step that allows the plaintiff to win on the pleadings alone because there was no response to contest the claims. In asset forfeiture, that default judgment can result in the forfeiture of the property since the owner did not respond to challenge the seizure.

A summary judgment, by contrast, is issued when there’s no genuine dispute of material fact and one side is entitled to judgment as a matter of law, but it requires a proper motion and evidence—not simply the absence of an answer. A bench trial and a jury trial refer to who decides the case (judge or jury), not to the remedy used when a defendant fails to plead.