120A.740 - Agreement to locate property. - Nevada Statutes

120A.740  Agreement to locate property.

      1.  An agreement by an owner, the primary purpose of which is to locate, deliver, recover or assist in the recovery of property that is presumed abandoned, is void and unenforceable if it was entered into during the period commencing on the date the property was presumed abandoned and extending to a time that is 24 months after the date the property is paid or delivered to the Administrator. This subsection does not apply to an owner’s agreement with an attorney to file a claim as to identified property or contest the Administrator’s denial of a claim.

      2.  An agreement by an owner, the primary purpose of which is to locate, deliver, recover or assist in the recovery of property, is enforceable only if the agreement is in writing, clearly sets forth the nature of the property and the services to be rendered, is signed by the apparent owner and states the value of the property before and after the fee or other compensation has been deducted.

      3.  If an agreement covered by this section applies to mineral proceeds and the agreement contains a provision to pay compensation that includes a portion of the underlying minerals or any mineral proceeds not then presumed abandoned, the provision is void and unenforceable.

      4.  An agreement covered by this section must not provide for compensation that is more than 10 percent of the total value of the property that is the subject of the agreement. An agreement that provides for compensation that is more than 10 percent of the total value of the property that is the subject of the agreement is unenforceable except by the owner. An owner who has agreed to pay compensation that is more than 10 percent of the total value of the property that is the subject of the agreement, or the Administrator on behalf of the owner, may maintain an action to reduce the compensation to an amount that does not exceed 10 percent of the total value of the property. The court may award reasonable attorney’s fees to an owner who prevails in the action.

      5.  This section does not preclude an owner from asserting that an agreement covered by this section is invalid on grounds other than that the compensation is more than 10 percent of the total value of the property that is the subject of the agreement.

      (Added to NRS by 2007, 767)

      NRS 120A.750  Uniformity of application and construction.  This chapter shall be applied and construed to effectuate its general purpose to make uniform the law with respect to the subject matter of the Uniform Unclaimed Property Act among the states that enact it.

      (Added to NRS by 1979, 1751; A 1983, 1476; 2007, 768)—(Substituted in revision for NRS 120A.130)