Escheatable

In recent years, there have been a number of instances where states have proposed (and sometimes ultimately enacted) laws to change the "dormancy period" for various types of property.  For those still new to unclaimed property law, the dormancy period is the statutorily defined period of time before a "holder" (the entity in possession of the property) may hold it before it must be reported and delivered to the state.  For example, if a state prescribes a three year dormancy period for bank accounts, that generally means that if the account owner engages in no activity in the bank account (e.g., deposits, withdrawals) for three years, the bank must report and deliver the property to the state. Because shortening the dormancy period has the effect of allowing the state to take custody of unclaimed property sooner, states have frequently resorted to shortening the dormancy periods for unclaimed property to generate more revenue.  For example, Michigan  shortened

In April of this year, we noted a lawsuit filed against Delaware's unclaimed property authorities arising out of a Voluntary Disclosure Agreement with Select Medical that became adversarial.  The lawsuit, which was being watched closely by unclaimed property professionals, challenged, among other things: Delaware's use of estimation prior to the enactment of the statute authorizing estimation; Delaware's alleged use of "arbitrary and capricious" estimation methods; the inclusion of non-dormant property in Delaware's estimation procedures; and Delaware's claimed disregard of the Texas v. New Jersey priority rules. According to  The Washington Post , the state and Select settled the case and dismissed all claims against one another.  No further information on the settlement is publicly available.  While this is probably a good outcome for the parties involved, it also demonstrates why there is relatively scant caselaw in the field of unclaimed proper