67-4a-1302. When agreement to locate property void.
(1)
Subject to Subsection (2), an agreement under Section 67-4a-1301 is void if the agreement is entered into during the period beginning on the date the property was paid or delivered by a holder to the administrator and ending 24 months after the payment or delivery.
Terms Used In Utah Code 67-4a-1302
Administrator: means the deputy state treasurer assigned by the state treasurer. See Utah Code 67-4a-102
Apparent owner: means a person whose name appears on the records of a holder as the owner of property held, issued, or owing by the holder. See Utah Code 67-4a-102
Holder: means a person obligated to hold for the account of, or to deliver or pay to, the owner property subject to this chapter. See Utah Code 67-4a-102
Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
for the acquisition and retention of a mineral lease, including a bonus, royalty, compensatory royalty, shut-in royalty, minimum royalty, or delay rental;
(ii)
for the extraction, production, or sale of minerals, including a net revenue interest, royalty, overriding royalty, extraction payment, or production payment; and
(iii)
under an agreement or option, including a joint-operating agreement, unit agreement, pooling agreement, and farm-out agreement. See Utah Code 67-4a-102
Owner: includes :
(i)
a depositor, for a deposit;
(ii)
a beneficiary, for a trust other than a deposit in trust;
(iii)
a creditor, claimant, or payee, for other property; and
(iv)
the lawful bearer of a record that may be used to obtain money, a reward, or a thing of value. See Utah Code 67-4a-102
money, virtual currency, interest, or a dividend, check, draft, or deposit;
(B)
a credit balance, customer's overpayment, stored-value card, payroll card, security deposit, refund, credit memorandum, unpaid wage, unused ticket for which the issuer has an obligation to provide a refund, mineral proceeds, or unidentified remittance; and
(C)
a security except for:
(I)
a worthless security; or
(II)
a security that is subject to a lien, legal hold, or restriction evidenced on the records of the holder or imposed by operation of law, if the lien, legal hold, or restriction restricts the holder's or owner's ability to receive, transfer, sell, or otherwise negotiate the security;
(iii)
a bond, debenture, note, or other evidence of indebtedness;
(iv)
money deposited to redeem a security, make a distribution, or pay a dividend;
(v)
an amount due and payable under an annuity contract or insurance policy;
(vi)
an amount distributable from a trust or custodial fund established under a plan to provide health, welfare, pension, vacation, severance, retirement, death, stock purchase, profit-sharing, employee-savings, supplemental-unemployment insurance, or a similar benefit; and
(vii)
an amount held under a preneed funeral or burial contract, other than a contract for burial rights or opening and closing services, where the contract has not been serviced following the death or the presumed death of the beneficiary. See Utah Code 67-4a-102
(2)
If a provision in an agreement described in Subsection (1) 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.
(3)
(a)
An agreement under Subsection (1) that provides for compensation in an amount that is unconscionable is unenforceable except by the apparent owner.
(b)
An apparent owner that believes the compensation the apparent owner has agreed to pay is unconscionable or the administrator, acting on behalf of an apparent owner, or both, may file an action in the district court to reduce the compensation to the maximum amount that is not unconscionable.
(c)
On the final determination of an action filed under this Subsection (3), the court may, on application, award the prevailing party the prevailing party’s reasonable attorney fees, costs, and expenses of litigation.
(4)
An apparent owner or the administrator may assert that an agreement described in this section is void on a ground other than it provides for payment of unconscionable compensation.
(5)
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 administrator or to contest the administrator’s denial of a claim for recovery of the property.
