A St. Petersburg woman has filed a federal class action complaint against Jimmy Patronis in his role as Florida’s chief financial officer, accusing the state of failing to pay owners of unclaimed properties just compensation.
Alieda Maron filed the lawsuit July 15 in the Northern District of Florida. It alleges that she and hundreds of thousands of other Floridians have had their rights under the Fifth Amendment’s takings clause violated when the state Department of Financial Services (DFS) acquired such properties for public use.
The Florida Disposition of Unclaimed Property Act applies to personal property held by third parties such as banks or insurance companies and considers such property “presumed unclaimed” if the owner fails to assert possession in writing within certain time constraints.
The lawsuit argues that owners who file valid claims for the properties after they go to the state can only recover the cash value turned over to DFS and not interest and time values the state profits from under state law.
“Accordingly, the act effectively provides the state with an interest-free loan of unclaimed private property funds that the act directs to be commingled with the state’s School Fund while in the state’s custody,” the lawsuit states. “The state otherwise pays market rates to borrow money.”
Patronis’ spokesman said DFS is now reviewing the lawsuit.
“Currently, when unclaimed property is recovered by DFS on behalf of Florida residents, until claimed, it is deposited into the (Department of Education’s) State School Trust Fund to benefit Florida’s K-12 public schools,” Devin Galetta told the Florida Record. “Once a claim is made to the department, the full value is returned to the rightful owner.”
Plaintiff Maron has property valued at $26.24 that the state now holds, according to online records. Florida currently holds more than $3.2 billion in unclaimed property, and the state last year paid out $358 million in unclaimed property filings, Maron’s complaint states.
Based on the average property claim averaging about $1,000, the size of the potential class over a single year is more than 350,000 members, the lawsuit says. The complaint asks the court for financial relief and an injunction requiring the state to pay owners the full value of their properties when future claims are filed.