© Affiliated Computer Services, Inc. (ACS) 2007, 2008

JurisdictionSuzanne Darling Affiliated Computer Services

© Affiliated Computer Services, Inc. (ACS) 2007Slide 2

A Little Bit of History, or How We Got Here

Escheat dates back to English feudal law when the sovereign held title to all real property

Bona vacantia similarly applied to personal property

Escheat and bona vacantia were Americanized after the Revolutionary War

© Affiliated Computer Services, Inc. (ACS) 2007Slide 3

In the U.S., a Culture of Personal Property Ownership Grew

The U.S. industrialized, capitalism thrived, and more and more people owned financial assets

Financial assets went unclaimed and, over time, the laws of unclaimed property as we know them were developed

© Affiliated Computer Services, Inc. (ACS) 2007Slide 4

Things Were Easy…for a While

Early legislation involved property with all parties located in the same state

It was obvious which state had jurisdiction to escheat the property

© Affiliated Computer Services, Inc. (ACS) 2007Slide 5

But then it got complicated and somebody had to make some rules!!

© Affiliated Computer Services, Inc. (ACS) 2007Slide 6

What Happened Next

Sun Oil Company was incorporated in NJ, headquartered in PA

It had locations and conducted business in many states

It owed unclaimed property to owners across the country

It faced competing demands from three different states claiming jurisdiction to escheat the same property

© Affiliated Computer Services, Inc. (ACS) 2007Slide 7

The Result: the Landmark Case of Texas v New Jersey, 379 U.S. 674 (1965)

Texas sued New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Sun Oil in the US Supreme Court

Florida joined in

Everybody had a different theory about where the money should go

© Affiliated Computer Services, Inc. (ACS) 2007Slide 8

The Supreme Court Set Out Two Simple Rules

Primary rule: The holder (debtor) reports the property to the state of the last known address of the owner (creditor)

Secondary rule: If there is no last known address on the holder’s records, the holder (debtor) reports the property to the holder’s state of incorporation

© Affiliated Computer Services, Inc. (ACS) 2007Slide 9

The Facts May Change, but the Rules Stay the Same

In two later cases, the Court reaffirmed the rules:

Pennsylvania v New York, 407 U.S. 206 (1972)

Delaware v New York, 507 U.S. 490 (1993)

© Affiliated Computer Services, Inc. (ACS) 2007Slide 10

The Bottom Line

The law of unclaimed property is engrained in our history

All unclaimed property goes somewhere and you need to be able to figure out where

The Supreme Court tried to make it easy for you by setting out two simple rules in Texas v New Jersey

You just have to play by the rules

© Affiliated Computer Services, Inc. (ACS) 2007Slide 11

Questions?