The Vermont Statutes Online
The Statutes below include the actions of the 2025 session of the General Assembly.
NOTE: The Vermont Statutes Online is an unofficial copy of the Vermont Statutes Annotated that is provided as a convenience.
Subchapter
013
:
AGREEMENT TO LOCATE PROPERTY OF APPARENT OWNER HELD BY ADMINISTRATOR
(Cite as: 27 V.S.A. § 1602)
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§ 1602. When agreement to locate property void
(a) Subject to subsection (b) of this section, an agreement under section 1601 of this title 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 Administrator and ending 24 months after
the payment or delivery.
(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 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) of this section that provides for compensation in
an amount that is unconscionable is unenforceable except by the apparent owner. 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 bring an action in the appropriate court to reduce the compensation to the
maximum amount that is not unconscionable. On the final determination of an action
filed under this subsection, the court may, on application, award the prevailing party
its reasonable attorney’s fees, costs, and expenses of litigation.
(d) 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.
(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 Administrator
or to contest the Administrator’s denial of a claim for recovery of the property.
(f) An agreement between an owner and an asset locator, the primary purpose of which is
to locate, deliver, recover, or assist in the recovery of property that is presumed
abandoned and that provides for compensation that exceeds 10 percent of the value
of the unclaimed property, shall be unenforceable. (Added 2019, No. 93 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. Jan. 1, 2021.)