State of Delaware Escheat Matter: Delaware v. Pennsylvania and Wisconsin; Arkansas, et al. v. Delaware

Loeb & Loeb represents the State of Delaware in two cases brought pursuant to the U.S. Supreme Court’s original jurisdiction for the resolution of disputes between States. One case represents a complaint brought by the State of Delaware against the States of Pennsylvania and Wisconsin and the second case represents a complaint brought by a number of other States against the State of Delaware. Both cases involve the question of which state has the right to take custody of the proceeds of certain financial instruments. The cases require the interpretation and application of a federal statute, the 1974 Disposition of Abandoned Money Orders and Travelers Check Act. Two prior cases, involving the same legal issues had been filed by Pennsylvania and Wisconsin against Delaware in federal district courts in each state. The Loeb team successfully brought the issue to the Supreme Court after convincing those states that their cases could only be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court. The cases will resolve the disposition of hundreds of millions of dollars of unclaimed property.