(1) Subject to subsection (2) of this section, an agreement under section 38-13-1301 is void if it is entered into during the period beginning on the date the property was paid or delivered by a holder to the administrator and ending twenty-four months after the payment or delivery.
If a provision in an agreement described in subsection (1) of this section applies tomineral proceeds for which compensation is to be paid to the other person based in whole or in part on a part of the underlying minerals or mineral proceeds not then presumed abandoned, the provision is void regardless of when the agreement was entered into.
The administrator shall adopt rules governing the maximum compensation in an agreement under subsection (1) of this section. An agreement that provides for compensation in an amount that exceeds the maximum amount established by rule is unenforceable except by the apparent owner. An apparent owner or the administrator, acting on behalf of an apparent owner, or both, may file an action in the district court for the city and county of Denver to reduce the compensation to the maximum amount. On the final determination of an action filed under this subsection (3), the court may, on application, award the plaintiff its reasonable attorney fees, costs, and expenses of litigation.
An apparent owner or the administrator may assert that an agreement described inthis section is void on a ground other than it provides for payment of unconscionable compensation.
This section does not apply to an apparent owner's agreement with an attorney topursue a claim for recovery of specifically identified property held by the administrator or to contest the administrator's denial of a claim for recovery of the property.
Source: L. 2019: Entire article R&RE, (SB 19-088), ch. 110, p. 455, § 1, effective July 1, 2020.