§ 60-664. Relief from liability by payment or delivery.

A.  Upon the payment or delivery of abandoned property to the State Treasurer, the state assumes custody and responsibility for the safekeeping of the property.  A person who pays or delivers property to the State Treasurer in good faith is relieved of all liability to the extent of the value of the property paid or delivered for any claim then existing or which thereafter may arise or be made in respect to the property.

B.  A holder who has paid money to the State Treasurer pursuant to the Uniform Unclaimed Property Act may make payment to any person appearing to the holder to be entitled to payment; and upon filing proof of such payment and proof that the payee was entitled thereto, the State Treasurer shall promptly reimburse the holder for the payment without imposing a fee or other charge.  If reimbursement is sought for a payment made on a negotiable instrument, including a travelers check or money order, the holder shall be reimbursed under this subsection upon filing proof that the instrument was presented and that payment was made to a person who appeared to the holder to be entitled to payment.  The holder shall be reimbursed for payment made under this subsection even if the holder paid a person whose claim was barred under subsection A of Section 666 of this title.

C.  A holder who has delivered property, including, but not limited to, a certificate of an ownership interest in a business association, other than money to the State Treasurer pursuant to the Uniform Unclaimed Property Act may reclaim the property if still in the possession of the Treasurer, without paying any fee or other charge, upon filing proof that the owner has claimed the property from the holder.

D.  The State Treasurer may accept the holder's affidavit as sufficient proof of the facts that entitle the holder to recover money and property under this section.

E.  If the holder pays or delivers property to the State Treasurer in good faith and thereafter another person claims the property from the holder or another state claims the money or property under its laws relating to escheat or abandoned or unclaimed property, the State Treasurer, upon written notice of the claim, shall defend the holder against the claim and, to the extent of the property's value, shall indemnify the holder against liability on the claim.  Neither the holder nor the State Treasurer shall be liable for more than the value of the property, determined as of the time of its payment or delivery to the State Treasurer, if the holder paid or delivered the property to the State Treasurer in good faith.

F.  For the purposes of this section, "good faith" means that:

1.  Payment or delivery was made in a reasonable attempt to comply with the Uniform Unclaimed Property Act;

2.  The person delivering the property was not a fiduciary then in breach of trust in respect to the property and had a reasonable basis for believing, based on the facts then known, that the property was abandoned for the purposes of the Uniform Unclaimed Property Act;

3.  There is no showing that the records under which the delivery was made did not meet reasonable commercial standards of practice in the industry; and

4.  The reporting and delivery of property was made in compliance with Sections 661 and 663 of this title and any applicable administrative rules.

Added by Laws 1967, c. 107, § 14, emerg. eff. April 24, 1967.  Amended by Laws 1991, c. 331, § 23, eff. Sept. 1, 1991; Laws 1999, c. 10, § 10, eff. July 1, 1999; Laws 2010, c. 241, § 3, emerg. eff. May 10, 2010.