Delaware Code Title 12 Sec. 1187 – When agreement to locate property unenforceable
(a) Subject to subsection (b) of this section, an agreement under § 1186 of this title is void and unenforceable if it is entered into during the period beginning on the date the property was distributable to the owner and ending 24 months after the payment or delivery.
Terms Used In Delaware Code Title 12 Sec. 1187
- Mineral: means gas, oil, coal, oil shale, other gaseous liquid or solid hydrocarbon, cement material, sand and gravel, road material, building stone, chemical raw material, gemstone, fissionable and nonfissionable ores, colloidal and other clay, steam and other geothermal resources, and any other substance defined as a mineral by law of this State other than this chapter. See Delaware Code Title 12 Sec. 1130
- Mineral proceeds: means an amount payable for extraction, production, or sale of minerals, or, on the abandonment of the amount, the amount that becomes payable after abandonment. See Delaware Code Title 12 Sec. 1130
- Owner: means a person, or the person's legal representative when acting on behalf of the person, that has a legal, beneficial, or equitable interest in property subject to this chapter. See Delaware Code Title 12 Sec. 1130
- Person: means an individual; estate; business association; public corporation; government or governmental subdivision, agency, or instrumentality; or other legal entity. See Delaware Code Title 12 Sec. 1130
- Property: means tangible property described in § 1134 of this title or a fixed and certain interest in intangible property held, issued, or owed in the course of a holder's business or by a government, governmental subdivision, agency, or instrumentality. See Delaware Code Title 12 Sec. 1130
- State: means a state of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, or any territory or insular possession subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. See Delaware Code Title 12 Sec. 1130
- State Escheator: means the person responsible for the administration and enforcement of this chapter, as established by § 1102 of this title and § 363 of Title 30. See Delaware Code Title 12 Sec. 1130
(b) If a provision in an agreement described in subsection (a) of this section applies to mineral proceeds for which compensation is to be paid to the other person based in whole or in part on a portion of the underlying minerals or mineral proceeds not then presumed abandoned, the provision is void and unenforceable regardless of when the agreement is entered into.
(c) For an agreement under subsection (a) of this section, total fees and costs may not exceed $1,000 or 10% of the value of the property recovered, whichever is less.
(d) An owner or the State Escheator may assert that an agreement described in this section is invalid on a ground other than it provides for payment of unconscionable compensation.
(e) This section does not apply to an owner’s agreement with an attorney to contest the State Escheator‘s denial of a claim for recovery of the property.