Posted on Wednesday, 21st September 2011 by Keane Unclaimed Property Team

On Monday, September 12, 2011, the Third Circuit United States Court of Appeals heard oral arguments in the case of New Jersey Retail Merchants Association v. Sidamon-Eristoff.  The litigation concerns the New Jersey gift card law passed in 2010 which, among other things, altered the unclaimed property jurisdictional priority rules for the reporting of gift cards in New Jersey.  The new law required that holders collect zip codes from purchasers, and in the absence of information concerning the owner, the presumed address would be the place of purchase.

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Posted on Wednesday, 1st June 2011 by Keane Unclaimed Property Team

As reported earlier, the New York State abandoned property laws changed recently when the Legislature passed its budget bill for 2011-2012 via Senate Bill 2811.

The bill includes multiple changes to the New York Abandoned Property Law that affect holders required to file with New York for the next reporting cycle.   The New State Comptroller’s Office of Unclaimed Funds has also added an alert to its website summarizing the recent changes.

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Posted on Friday, 6th May 2011 by Keane Unclaimed Property Team

On Tuesday, May 3rd, Texas substantially amended HB 257 proposing, among other things, to adjust the due dates for Texas unclaimed property rules, reporting, and delivery.  Previously, Texas’ reporting due date was November 1st with a cut-off date of June 30th.  The amended bill proposes a due date of July 1st with a cut-off date of March 1st.  Accordingly, Texas’ due diligence statute is amended to match the new deadline.

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Posted on Thursday, 7th April 2011 by Keane Unclaimed Property Team

Please be advised that on March 31, 2011, New York passed the budget bill S2811, which replaced the identical New York Abandoned Property Law A4011. The new law, effective immediately and due with the next reporting cycle, provides the following:

New York S2811 lowered the dormancy periods from 5 years to 3 years for the following property types:

• Money or securities held in escrow, but excluding escrow accounts for which the duty or obligation for which such amount was deposited has not been performed and such performance is still required.

• Amounts due on deposits held by a banking organization or any amount to which a shareholder of a savings and loan or a credit union is entitled.

• Accumulations of interest or other increments held by a bank for payment of an interest in a bond and mortgage apportioned or transferred by it.

More New York Abandoned Property Law Updates

In addition to adjusting dormancy periods, S2811 also amended New York’s reporting provisions. There following are major changes to keep in mind for your next report to New York:

1. Publication requirements: Every banking organization must publish on or before September 1st of each year a notice naming potential owners of unclaimed property being held by the banking organization. Every insurance company must publish on or before May 1st of each year a notice naming potential owners of unclaimed property being held by the company. These provisions provide a little more flexibility in that the previous requirement mandated publication within 30 days of filing a report.

2. Negative and Preliminary reports no longer required: Negative and preliminary reporting requirements are removed for banks, utility companies, insurance companies and condemnation awards reports. The bill further confirms the reporting deadlines and cut-off dates.  Once the statutory due diligence and publication requirements have been satisfied, the report and remittance would be due for banking institutions by November 10th and for life insurance companies by September 10th.

3. Miscellaneous:  The Verification and Checklist (AC2709) notarization requirement was lifted.  NY State law still mandates that all unclaimed funds valued at $20 and higher follow the statutory due diligence requirements.  The State Controller’s Office posts all owners entitled to property valued at $20 and higher on their website for at least one year. Gift cards remain at a 5 year dormancy period.  

Please note we will continue to track any changes regarding new legislation in our unclaimed property blog and our quarterly unclaimed property newsletter, Keanotes.

Should you have any questions or require additional information, you may also contact me directly via email at dzumoff@KeaneUP.com.

Sincerely,

Debbie L. Zumoff
Chief Compliance Officer
Keane

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Posted on Wednesday, 30th March 2011 by Keane Unclaimed Property Team

Proposed on February 17, 2011 and passed on March 25, 2011, HB 174 marks the first major unclaimed property legislation passage of 2011. The bill makes two major changes to securities reporting in Idaho: (1) the dormancy trigger will now be a combination of inactivity and RPO, instead of pure inactivity, and (2) the requirements for reporting dividend reinvestment program accounts (DRP accounts) are now clearly spelled out.. More details are provided below.

Previously, Idaho only recognized pure inactivity as a dormancy trigger for securities. Under HB 174, any stock, shareholding or other intangible ownership interest in a business association is “considered” abandoned if the owner of such interest (1) fails to either claim a dividend, distribution, or other sum payable or communicate with the association regarding the interest or a dividend, distribution; and (2) the location of the owner is unknown at the end of the five (5) year dormancy period.

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Posted on Monday, 21st March 2011 by Keane Unclaimed Property Team

Last week, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported that Costco is suing the State of Washington over $3.2 million in unclaimed rebates. The lawsuit is in response to an order mandated by the state in February that Costco owed more than $3 million in unused rebates. The state says the funds belong in a state-managed program for consumers who want to claim the rebates. In Costco’s suit, however, the company alleges it should not have to turn over the requested funds as it engaged a third party rebate house to manage its rebate program. Because the company does not retain the amounts at issue, it doesn’t believe it owes the state anything.

The $3.2 million represents unclaimed Costco rebate from 2004 to 2010, plus interest.

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Posted on Monday, 28th February 2011 by Keane Unclaimed Property Team

Reporting unclaimed property in Indiana? If so, pay attention! Today, February 28, 2011, is the deadline for unclaimed property reports under the Indiana Amnesty Program. Early last fall, the Office of the Indiana Attorney General instituted a one-time only unclaimed property amnesty program to help organizations holding unclaimed property come into compliance with the Unclaimed Property Reporting Act, without consequence of accrued payment and applicable penalties. Holders wishing to participate in this program had to have enrolled by October 31, 2010.

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Posted on Friday, 19th November 2010 by Keane Unclaimed Property Team

When not correctly managed and reported, the risk of state audits – and subsequent fines and penalties for inadequate unclaimed property compliance – become a distinct reality. There is a widely held belief, however, that the overwhelming majority of unclaimed property is not reported. In fact, most state estimates suggest that only 15-35 percent of companies are in full compliance with the laws.

The bottom line is that if unclaimed property isn’t on your radar, it should be. Read More »

Posted on Friday, 12th November 2010 by Keane Unclaimed Property Team

As states become more aggressive with abandoned property laws and guidelines, they continue to make changes to legislation in an effort to generate more revenue. On September 30, Tennessee proposed new administrative rules for unclaimed property that if passed will directly affect businesses operating in the state.

The proposed changes apply to Organizations and Individuals Required to Report, Reporting Forms, Alternative Reporting Forms Accepted by the State and Agreements Relative to Unclaimed Property.

Organizations and Individuals Required to Report: The current rule for organizations and individuals states that business employing less than 25 employees do not have to report unclaimed property. The proposed rule would delete this exception making it mandatory for all businesses in the state to report this information. Read More »

Posted on Thursday, 4th November 2010 by Keane Unclaimed Property Team

With reporting deadlines occurring at the end of this month, we are constantly keeping abreast of issues involving unclaimed property and dormant accounts—even ones occurring outside the United States. A recent article caught our attention from CaymanNewsService titled “Law fundamentally ‘flawed’” as it raised some unclaimed property law issues that have and continue to occur state side. Read More »