Unenforceable Agreements to Locate or Recover Property

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Sec. 75. (a) Subject to subsection (b), an agreement under section 74 of this chapter 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 attorney general and ending twenty-four (24) months after the payment or delivery.

(b) If a provision in an agreement described in subsection (a) applies to mineral 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.

(c) An agreement under subsection (a) which provides for compensation in an amount that is unconscionable is unenforceable except by the apparent owner. Compensation for an agreement under subsection (a) is unconscionable if the fee or compensation is more than ten percent (10%) of the amount collected, unless the amount collected is fifty dollars ($50) or less, and may not exceed five thousand dollars ($5,000). An apparent owner that believes the compensation the apparent owner has agreed to pay is unconscionable or the attorney general, acting on behalf of an apparent owner, or both, may file an action in a court with jurisdiction to reduce the compensation to the maximum amount that is not unconscionable. An apparent owner that prevails in an action under this subsection may be awarded reasonable attorney's fees.

(d) An apparent owner or the attorney general may assert that an agreement described in this section is void on a ground other than it provides for payment of unconscionable compensation.

(e) This section does not apply to an apparent owner's agreement with an attorney to pursue a claim for recovery of specifically identified property held by the attorney general or to contest the attorney general's denial of a claim for recovery of the property.

As added by P.L.141-2021, SEC.20.


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