I agree with you but the parent’s point still stands. This is how the courts have allowed suits to go through in more than just civil forfeiture cases. If the property isn’t legally yours then you can’t possibly claim property ownership rights to it. So you “sue” the property and have all parties who believe they have a claim to it be parties in the lawsuit. It’s a quirk of the legal system. In practice it’s still the gov’t vs. the original “owner” fighting over who owns it.

It can’t be theft until after the courts decide who owns it. Then it can be theft.