The Delaware State Chamber of Commerce says a court decision in Delaware has confirmed its long-held view that the state’s unclaimed property practices might not stand up under court scrutiny.
U.S. District Court Judge Gregory Sleet issued a ruling on Temple-Inland v. Cook, a lawsuit filed against Delaware over the issue of unclaimed property, currently a $500 million revenue line item for Delaware. Sleet took issue with Delaware’s practices regarding revenue from unclaimed property.
The Temple-Inland ruling verifies the warnings made by the Delaware State Chamber of Commerce and its members regarding the State of Delaware’s practices surrounding unclaimed property, a release from the Chamber noted.
The chamber cited the 30-year look back period and the use of estimates in claiming unclaimed property revenue.
“The decision is a positive for businesses, but will have a major impact on the state budget in the coming years,” said Delaware State Chamber of Commerce President A. Richard Heffron. “The Chamber has raised these issues to the state over the years in an attempt to help address what companies under an abandoned property audit went through to calculate what they may owe. It has been an unfair practice to look back 30 plus years when no company keeps records going back that long.”
