Louisiana Revised Statutes - Official State Website

Louisiana Revised Statutes Title 9. Civil Code Ancillaries

Code Book I--Of Persons Code Title III--Absent Persons Chapter 1. Uniform Unclaimed Property Act

? 151. Short title ? 152. Uniformity of application and construction ? 153. Definitions ? 154. Presumptions of abandonment ? 154.1 Compensation for expropriation; ownership; town of Berwick

?154.2. Crescent City Connection; Geaux Pass accounts and deposits; tolls; Geaux Pass Transition Fund; disposition

? 155. Contents of safe deposit box or other safekeeping depository ? 156. Rules for taking custody ? 157. Dormancy charge ? 158. Burden of proof as to property evidenced by record of check or draft ? 159. Report of abandoned property ? 160. Payment or delivery of abandoned property ? 161. Notice and publication of lists of abandoned property ? 162. Custody by state; recovery by holder; defense of holder ? 163. Crediting of dividends, interest, and increments to owner's account ? 164. Public sale of abandoned property ? 165. Deposit of funds ?165.1. Bonds; unclaimed property bonds; completion of I-49 ?165.2. Designates first I-49 unclaimed property bond project; "Alvin B. Kessler Memorial

Highway" ? 166. Claim of another state to recover property ? 167. Filing claim with administrator; handling of claims by administrator ? 168. Action to establish claim ? 169. Election to take payment or delivery ? 170. Destruction or disposition of property having no substantial commercial value; immunity from

liability ? 171. Periods of limitation ? 172. Requests for reports and examination of records ? 173. Retention of records ? 174. Enforcement ? 175. Interstate agreements and cooperation; joint and reciprocal actions with other states;

confidentiality ? 176. Interest and penalties ? 177. Agreement to locate property ? 178. Foreign transactions ? 179. Applicability of Chapter ? 180. Rules ? 181. Severability ?? 182 to 188. [Blank]

Uniform Unclaimed Property Act

Louisiana Revised Statutes Title 9. Civil Code Ancillaries

Code Book I--Of Persons Code Title III--Absent Persons Chapter 1. Uniform Unclaimed Property Act

? 151. Short title

This Chapter may be cited as the "Uniform Unclaimed Property Act of 1997".

Acts 1986, No. 829, ?1, eff. July 10, 1986; Acts 1997, No. 809, ?1, eff. July 10, 1997.

? 152. Uniformity of application and construction

This Chapter shall be applied and construed to effectuate its general purpose to make uniform the law with respect to the subject of this Chapter among states enacting it.

Acts 1986, No. 829, ?1, eff. July 10, l986; Acts 1997, No. 809, ?1, eff. July 10, 1997.

? 153. Definitions

As used in this Chapter: (1) "Administrator" means the state treasurer. (2) "Apparent owner" means a person whose name appears on the records of a holder as the person entitled to property held, issued, or owed by the holder. (3) "Business association" means a corporation, joint stock company, investment company, partnership, unincorporated association, joint venture, limited liability company, business trust, trust company, savings and loan association, building and loan association, savings bank, industrial bank, land bank, safe deposit company, safekeeping depository, bank, banking organization, financial organization, insurance company, mutual fund, credit union, utility, or other business entity consisting of one or more persons, whether or not for profit. (4) "Domicile" means the state of incorporation of a corporation and the state of the principal place of business of a holder other than a corporation. (5) "Holder" means a person obligated to hold for the account of, or deliver or pay to, the owner of property that is subject to this Chapter. (6) "Insurance company" means an association, corporation, or fraternal or mutual benefit organization, whether or not for profit, engaged in the business of providing insurance including accident, burial, casualty, credit life, contract performance, dental, fidelity, fire, health, hospitalization, illness, life insurance, life endowments and annuities, malpractice, marine, mortgage, surety, and wage protection insurance. (7) "Mineral" means gas, oil, coal, other gaseous liquid and solid hydrocarbons, oil shale, cement material, sand and gravel, road material, building stone, chemical substance, gemstone, fissionable and nonfissionable ores, colloidal and other clay, steam and other geothermal resource, or any other substance defined as a mineral by the law of this state.

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Uniform Unclaimed Property Act

(8) "Mineral proceeds" means amounts payable for the extraction, production, or sale of minerals, or, upon the abandonment of those payments, all payments that become payable thereafter. The term includes amounts payable for all of the following:

(a) For the acquisition and retention of a mineral lease, including bonuses, royalties, compensatory royalties, shut-in royalties, minimum royalties, and delay rentals.

(b) For the extraction, production, or sale of minerals, including net revenue interests, royalties, overriding royalties, extraction payments, and production payments.

(c) Resulting from an agreement or option, including a joint operating agreement, unit agreement, pooling agreement, and farm-out agreement.

(9) "Money order" includes an express money order and a personal money order, on which the remitter is the purchaser. The term does not include a bank money order or any other instrument sold by a banking or financial organization if the seller has obtained the name and address of the payee.

(10) "Owner" means a person who has a legal or equitable interest in property subject to this Chapter or the person's legal representative. The term includes a depositor in the case of a deposit, a beneficiary in the case of a trust other than a deposit in trust, and a creditor, claimant, or payee in the case of other property.

(11) "Person" means an individual, business association, estate, trust, partnership, government, governmental subdivision, agency, or instrumentality, public corporation, or any other legal or commercial entity.

(12) "Property" means a fixed and certain interest in intangible property that is held, issued, or owed in the course of a holder's business, or by a government or governmental entity, and all income or increments therefrom. The term includes property that is referred to as or evidenced by the following:

(a) Money, a check, draft, deposit, interest, or dividend. (b) Credit balance, customer's overpayment, gift certificate, security deposit, refund, credit memorandum, unpaid wage, unused ticket, mineral proceeds, or unidentified remittance. (c) Stock or other evidence of ownership of an interest in a business association. (d) A bond, debenture, note, or other evidence of indebtedness. (e) Money deposited to redeem stocks, bonds, coupons, or other securities or to make distributions. (f) An amount due and payable under the terms of an annuity or insurance policy, including policies providing life insurance, property and casualty insurance, workers' compensation insurance, or health and disability insurance. (g) An amount distributable from a trust or custodial fund established under a plan to provide health, welfare, pension, vacation, severance, retirement, death, stock purchase, profit sharing, employee savings, supplemental unemployment insurance, or similar benefits. (h) Any certificate, rebate, coupon, or other instrument issued in connection with a class action judgment or court-approved settlement of a class action proceeding which represents a refund on, or reduction of, the purchase price of an item or services purchased or to be purchased shall not constitute property within the meaning of this statute.

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Uniform Unclaimed Property Act

(13) "Record" means information that is inscribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in perceivable form.

(14) "State" means a state of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or any territory or insular possession subject to the jurisdiction of the United States.

(15) "Utility" means a person who owns or operates for public use any plant, equipment, real property, franchise, or license for the transmission of communications or the production, storage, transmission, sale, delivery, or furnishing of electricity, water, steam, or gas.

Acts 1991, No. 209, ?1, eff. July 2, 1991; Acts 1997, No. 809, ?1, eff. July 10, 1997; Acts 2000, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 135, ?2, eff. July 1, 2000.

? 154. Presumptions of abandonment

A. Property is presumed abandoned if it is unclaimed by the apparent owner during the time set forth below for the particular property for the following:

(1) Travelers check, fifteen years after issuance. (2) Money order, seven years after issuance. (3)(a) Stock or other interest in a business association, including a debt obligation other than a bearer bond or original issue discount bond, if either of the following applies: (i) Three years after the earlier of the date of an unpresented instrument issued to pay interest or a dividend or other cash distribution, or the date of issue of an undelivered stock certificate issued as a stock dividend, split, or other distribution. (ii) If a dividend or other distribution has not been paid on the stock or other interest for three consecutive years, or the stock or other interest is held pursuant to a plan that provides for the automatic reinvestment of dividends or other distributions, three years after the date of the second mailing of a statement of account or other notification or communication that was returned as undeliverable, or after the holder discontinued mailings to the apparent owner, whichever is earlier. (b) Any dividend, profit, distribution, interest, redemption, payment on principal, or other sum held or owing by a business association for or to a shareholder, certificate holder, member, bond holder, or other security holder, who has not claimed it, or corresponded in writing with the business association concerning it, within three years after the date prescribed for payment or delivery. (4) A demand, savings, or matured time deposit, including a deposit that is automatically renewable, five years after the earlier of its maturity or the date of the last indication by the owner of interest in the property; however, property that is automatically renewable is deemed matured for purposes of this Section upon its initial date of maturity, unless the owner has consented to a renewal at or about the time of the renewal and the consent is in writing or is evidenced by a memorandum or other record on file with the holder. However, no property under this Paragraph shall be presumed abandoned if a banking or financial organization has forwarded a statement or other written communication to the owner within the preceding ninety days with regard to the property at the owner's last known address and the statement or

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Uniform Unclaimed Property Act

communication has not been returned to the banking or financial organization as undeliverable or unclaimed by the forwarding agent.

(5) Money or credits owed to a customer as a result of a retail business transaction, three years after the obligation accrued.

(6) Gift certificate, three years after December thirty-first of the year in which the certificate was sold.

(7) Amount owed by an insurer on a life or endowment insurance policy or annuity contract that has matured or terminated, three years after the obligation to pay arose or, in the case of a policy or contract payable upon proof of death, three years after the insured has attained, or would have attained if living, the limiting age under the mortality table on which the reserve is based.

(8) Property distributable by a business association in a course of dissolution, one year after the property becomes distributable.

(9) Property received by a court as proceeds of a class action, and not distributed to members of the class, one year after the distribution date.

(10) Property held by a court, state or other government, governmental subdivision or agency, public corporation, or other public authority, one year after the property becomes distributable, except as provided in R.S. 15:86.1.

(11) Wages or other compensation for personal services, one year after the compensation becomes payable.

(12) Deposit or refund owed to a subscriber by a utility, one year after the deposit or refund becomes payable.

(13) Property in an individual retirement account or other account or plan that is qualified for tax deferral under the income tax laws of the United States, three years after the earliest of the date of the distribution or attempted distribution of the property, the date of the required distribution as stated in the plan or trust agreement governing the plan, or the date, if determinable by the holder, specified in the income tax laws of the United States by which distribution of the property must begin in order to avoid a tax penalty.

(14) Mineral proceeds, two years after the property is payable or distributable. (15) Funds in an education savings account established in accordance with the Louisiana Student Tuition Assistance and Revenue Trust Program as provided in Chapter 22-A of Title 17, during any five-year period subsequent to the beneficiary's thirty-fifth birthday. (16) Property distributable in the course of a demutualization, rehabilitation, or related reorganization of an insurance company, two years after the date of the demutualization or other event covered herein if, at the time of the demutualization or other event covered herein, the last known address of the owner on the book and records of the holder is known to be incorrect, or distributions or statements are returned by the post office as undeliverable, and the owner has not communicated in writing with the holder or its agent regarding the interest, or otherwise communicated with the holder regarding the interest as evidenced by a memorandum or other record on file with the holder or its agent.

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Uniform Unclaimed Property Act

(17) All other property, five years after the obligation to pay or distribute the property arises.

B. At the time that an interest is presumed abandoned under Paragraph A(3) of this Section, any other property right accrued or accruing to the owner as a result of the interest, and not previously presumed abandoned, shall also be presumed abandoned.

C.(1) Property is unclaimed if, for the applicable period of time set forth in Subsection A of this Section, the apparent owner has not communicated, in writing or by other means reflected in a contemporaneous record prepared by or on behalf of the holder, with the holder concerning the property or the account in which the property is held, and has not otherwise indicated an interest in the property. A communication with an owner by a person other than the holder or its representative who has not in writing identified the property to the owner shall not be an indication of interest in the property by the owner.

(2) Property is unclaimed for purposes of Subsection (A)(15) of this Section if, for the applicable period of time set forth in Subsection (A)(15) of this Section, the education savings account owner has not communicated, in writing or by other means reflected in a contemporaneous record prepared by or on behalf of the holder, with the holder concerning the account in which the funds are held, and has not otherwise indicated an interest in the funds and the beneficiary of the account has not requested a disbursement of any of the funds for qualified higher education expenses. A communication with an owner by a person other than the holder or its representative who has not identified the account in writing to the owner shall not be an indication of interest in the property by the owner.

D. An indication of an owner's interest in property includes the following: (1) The presentment of a check or other instrument of payment of a dividend or other distribution made with respect to an account or underlying stock or other interest in a business association or, in the case of a distribution made by electronic or similar means, evidence that the distribution has been received. (2) Owner-directed activity in the account in which the property is held, including a direction by the owner to increase, decrease, or change the amount or type of property held in the account. (3) The making of a deposit to or withdrawal from a bank account. (4) The payment of a premium with respect to a property interest in an insurance policy; however, the application of an automatic premium loan provision or other nonforfeiture provision contained in an insurance policy does not prevent a policy from maturing or terminating if the insured has died or the insured or the beneficiary of the policy has otherwise become entitled to the proceeds before the depletion of the cash surrender value of a policy by the application of those provisions. E. Property shall be payable or distributable for purposes of this Chapter notwithstanding the owner's failure to make demand or present an instrument or document otherwise required to obtain payment.

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Uniform Unclaimed Property Act

Acts 1986, No. 829, ?1, eff. July 10, 1986; Acts 1991, No. 209, ?1, eff. July 2, 1991; Acts 1992, No. 73, ?1, eff. June 5, 1992; Acts 1997, No. 809, ?1, eff. July 10, 1997; Acts 2003, No. 221, ?1, eff. June 5, 2003; Acts 2004, No. 839, ?1.; Acts 2006, No. 573, ?1.

?154.1. Compensation for expropriation; ownership; town of Berwick

A. Notwithstanding the provisions of R.S. 9:154, monetary funds paid by the town of Berwick into the registry of the court for the expropriation of property and which monetary funds would otherwise be deemed abandoned pursuant to R.S. 9:154, and which monetary funds have not been claimed by any person for a period in excess of twelve years, shall revert to being funds of the town of Berwick, and any such monetary funds held by the administrator shall be returned to the town of Berwick.

B. The administrator who returns the funds to the town of Berwick shall be relieved of all liability which may arise with respect to the funds which have been returned to the town of Berwick.

Acts 2001, No. 836, ?1.

?154.2. Crescent City Connection; Geaux Pass accounts and deposits; tolls; Geaux Pass Transition Fund; disposition

A. Notwithstanding the provisions of R.S. 9:154 or any other provision of law to the contrary, the provisions of this Section shall apply to account balances and toll tag deposits for all Geaux Pass accounts with the primary designation of the Crescent City Connection Bridge that have had no activity on Louisiana Highway 1 since July 1, 2012, and all tolls paid to cross the Crescent City Connection Bridge for the period beginning January 1, 2013, and continuing through March 5, 2013.

B. On July 1, 2013, any monetary funds remaining in any Geaux Pass account, any monetary funds remaining for toll tag deposits for all Geaux Pass accounts with the primary designation of the Crescent City Connection Bridge that have had no activity on Louisiana Highway 1 on or after July 1, 2012, and any monetary funds paid as a toll to cross the Crescent City Connection Bridge from January 1, 2013, through March 5, 2013, and which monetary funds have not been claimed by any person as of June 15, 2013, shall be deemed abandoned funds for the purposes of treatment as unclaimed property in accordance with the provisions of this Section.

C. Funds that are deemed abandoned funds pursuant to this Section shall be immediately reported and transferred from the Department of Transportation and Development to the state treasurer in his capacity as administrator of the Uniform Unclaimed Property Act. The state treasurer shall deposit these funds into the Geaux Pass Transition Fund as provided in this Section, and shall through June 30, 2014, provide for the return of such funds to their owners in accordance with the Uniform Unclaimed Property Act. The state treasurer shall further provide

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for the payment of all unexpended and unencumbered funds remaining in the Geaux Pass Transition Fund on June 30, 2014, in accordance with the provisions of this Section.

D.(1) There is hereby created the Geaux Pass Transition Fund as a special fund in the state treasury, hereinafter referred to as the "fund". The source of monies for the fund shall be the monies transferred from the Department of Transportation and Development to the state treasurer in his capacity as administrator of the Uniform Unclaimed Property Act pursuant to the provisions of this Section.

(2) After compliance with the requirements of Article VII, Section 9(B) of the Constitution of Louisiana, relative to the Bond Security and Redemption Fund, an amount equal to that deposited into the state treasury from the foregoing sources shall be deposited in and credited to the fund. The monies in the fund shall be invested by the treasurer in the same manner as the state general fund, and interest earnings shall be deposited into the fund.

3) All unexpended and unencumbered monies remaining in the fund on June 30, 2014, shall be appropriated as follows:

(a) An amount not to exceed thirty percent of the monies in the fund shall be appropriated to the Department of Transportation and Development for operational and maintenance costs for the New Orleans ferries, formerly operated by its Crescent City Connection Division.

(b) The balance of the monies in the fund as of June 30, 2014, shall be appropriated to the New Orleans Regional Planning Commission for lighting of the eastbank and westbank approaches to the Crescent City Connection Bridge, including General DeGaulle and the Westbank Expressway approach through ground level, improvements to ingress and egress points, lighting, maintenance, grass cutting, and landscaping of the Westbank Expressway and its connecting arteries.

(c) The state treasurer shall be relieved of all liability which may arise with respect to such distribution of funds.

E. All data associated with funds transferred to the state treasurer pursuant to this Section shall be provided to the Unclaimed Property Division in an electronic format as designated by such division.

F. For the purposes of this Section, holder requirements under R.S. 9:159 shall be deemed waived and the Department of Transportation and Development shall be deemed a holder in good faith pursuant to provisions of the Uniform Unclaimed Property Act.

G. The state treasurer in his capacity as administrator of the Uniform Unclaimed Property Act may establish policies and procedures as necessary to implement the provisions of this Section.

H. All books, papers, and records transferred to the state treasurer pursuant to this Section or as a result of Act No. 247 of the 2013 Regular Session of the Legislature shall be retained for a period of no less than five years following such transfer.

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