Supreme Court Decision Syllabus (SCOTUS Podcast)

Delaware v. Pennsylvania (Unclaimed Property)

• Jake Leahy • Season 2022 • Episode 7

Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.

0:00 | 9:48

Send us Fan Mail

The Disposition of Abandoned Money Orders and Traveler's Checks Act requires that abandoned property from a "money order . . . or other similar written instrument," be returned to the state where the property was purchased. This rule is different from the common law, which requires that unclaimed property be returned to the state of incorporation, not the state of purchase. The Supreme Court held that Agent Checks and Teller's Checks, offered by MoneyGram, were sufficiently similar to a money order to be governed by the statutory framework. As a result, these products offered by MoneyGram should be returned to the state of purchase when unclaimed, rather than the state of incorporation (most often, Delaware). Justice Jackson delivered the opinion of the unanimous court (although the Court was not unanimous for a portion of the decision, there is no dissent regarding that portion).

Delaware v. Pennsylvania

Support the show

People on this episode