2024 -- S 2909

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LC005114

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2024

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO COURTS AND CIVIL PROCEDURE -- COURTS -- CONDITIONAL

ESCHEAT OF UNCLAIMED FUNDS IN COURT REGISTRIES

     Introduced By: Senator F. Lombardi

     Date Introduced: March 22, 2024

     Referred To: Senate Judiciary

     (Judiciary)

It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

     SECTION 1. Sections 8-12-1, 8-12-2 and 8-12-3 of the General Laws in Chapter 8-12

entitled "Conditional Escheat of Unclaimed Funds in Court Registries" are hereby amended to read

as follows:

     8-12-1. Report of unclaimed funds in court registries. Report of unclaimed funds held

by the courts.

     (a) The clerks of the supreme, superior, family, district, workers’ compensation courts and

the traffic tribunal shall, every year during the month of July, return report to the state court

administrator those funds which have been on deposit in the registry of the respective court for a

period of five (5) years one year or more as of the last business day of June of that year. A sworn

statement listing all money or funds shall also be submitted.

     (b) The statement shall contain as to each deposit or fund:

     (1) The number, deposit type, and title of the case and the date of the order deposit entered

on the case in accordance with which the money was paid into the registry of received by the court;

     (2) The name and address of the person, persons, firm, or corporation who paid the money

into the registry of the court so far as the name and address appears of record;

     (3) The name and address of the person, persons, firm, or corporation entitled to the money

in the registry so far as the name and address appear of record in the case or are otherwise known

to the clerk;

     (4) The amount and date of the deposit in the registry of the court and the amount including

accretions from interest or otherwise at the date of the statement; and

     (5) An assertion as to whether or not any claim to the deposit or fund or portion thereof is

being actively prosecuted by any person and/or whether such claim has been made during the five

(5) years prior to the last business day of June of that year.; and

     (6) An assertion as to whether or not a deposit or fund or portion thereof should be deemed

as unclaimed.

     8-12-2. Deposit of unclaimed funds.

     If, upon examination of the sworn statement required to be filed by the several clerks under

the provisions of § 8-12-1, it appears to the state court administrator that there are deposits in the

registry of the supreme court, the superior court, the family court, the district court, the workers’

compensation court and/or the traffic tribunal that have been are unclaimed by any person prima

facie entitled to the deposits, or his or her or its representative, for a period of five (5) years

preceding the last business day of June of the then current year, then all of those unclaimed deposits

in the registry of the applicable court, together with any interest on the deposit, shall be paid to the

general fund to be held and used by the administrator of the state courts as approved by the chief

justice of the supreme court subject to being repaid to the person(s), firm(s) or corporation(s) who

may subsequently establish a lawful right to the deposit as provided in § 8-12-3 or escheated to the

general treasurer.

     8-12-3. Claim for escheated funds.

     (a) Any person who claims a right to money or funds paid to the general fund by the

supreme court, the superior court, the family court, the district court, the workers’ compensation

court and/or the traffic tribunal pursuant to § 8-12-2, may file a complaint in the superior court

within and for the county of Providence within three (3) ten (10) years after the funds are deposited

in the general fund. The complaint shall be subject to the superior court rules of civil procedure and

shall follow the course of equity. The complaint shall be filed against the state, and service of

process shall be made upon the administrator of the state courts in person or at his or her respective

office with someone in charge of the office. The attorney general shall appear and represent the

state in the action. The superior court shall hear the complaint, and in case the final determination

of the complaint is in favor of the plaintiff, the court shall enter its judgment directing the

administrator of the state courts to repay to the plaintiff so much of the fund as the plaintiff has

shown himself or herself entitled to receive, together with interest at a rate not to exceed six percent

(6%) per annum on that amount, together with the costs of the action as taxed, in accordance with

the rules of civil procedure. The interest shall begin to accumulate on the date the sum is received

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by the general fund and shall cease on the earlier of fifteen (15) years following receipt or the date

on which payment is made to the owner. Upon issuance of the order, the clerk shall immediately

forward to the administrator of the state courts the execution based upon the judgment and including

costs as taxed. The general fund will pay the amount named in the execution to the party entitled

to the amount.

     (b) In case the action is determined in favor of the state, the determination shall operate as

a final bar against the claimant or his or her or its representatives. In the event the action is decided

in favor of the claimant, review may be had by the supreme court in its discretion on petition for

writ of certiorari, which must be filed within twenty (20) days by the attorney general following

the judgment of the superior court.

     SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.

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EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N   A C T

RELATING TO COURTS AND CIVIL PROCEDURE -- COURTS -- CONDITIONAL

ESCHEAT OF UNCLAIMED FUNDS IN COURT REGISTRIES

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     This act would update the process by which the supreme court reports, holds, and escheats

unclaimed property in the court registries by allowing the finance unit of the supreme court to place

unclaimed funds into the general fund or escheat them to the general treasurer after one year as

opposed to the current five (5) years. It also increases the amount of time by which an individual

can seek to claim the funds from three (3) years to ten (10) years. These changes reflect best

practices in handling unclaimed funds.

     This act would take effect upon passage.

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