3385.03 Notice of abandonment of property or termination of loan. - Ohio Statutes

3385.03 Notice of abandonment of property or termination of loan.

(A) A museum shall send notice of abandonment of property or termination of a loan by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the owner of the property at the owner’s last known address as shown by the records of the museum. If the museum has no address on record, or the museum does not receive written proof of receipt of the notice within thirty days after the date the notice was mailed, the museum shall publish notice, at least twice over a sixty-day period, in a newspaper of general circulation in both the county in which the museum is located and the county in which the last known address of the owner, if available, is located. For purposes of this division, “records of the museum” means documents created or held by the museum in its regular course of business.

(B) The mailed and published notices shall contain the following:

(1) The date of the notice;

(2) A general description of the property;

(3) The name and, if available, the last known address of the owner of the property;

(4) The approximate date the property was loaned to the museum;

(5) The name and address of the appropriate museum official to be contacted regarding the notice;

(6) For published notices, a request that anyone who may know the whereabouts of the owner of the property provide written notice to the museum;

(7) For published notices, the publication date of the last notice.

(C)(1) A notice of abandonment of property shall include a statement in substantially the following form:

“The (name of museum) hereby asserts title to the following property: (general description of property). If you claim ownership or other legal interest in this property, you must contact (name of museum) in writing, establish ownership of the property, and make arrangements to collect the property. If you fail to do so within ninety days, the property will be considered abandoned and will become property of (name of museum).”

(2) A notice of termination of a loan of property shall include a statement in substantially the following form:

“The records of (name of museum) indicate that you have property on loan to it. The (name of museum) hereby terminates the loan. If you desire to claim the property, you must contact the (name of museum) in writing, establish ownership of the property, and make arrangements to collect the property. If you fail to do so within six months, you will be considered to have waived any claim you may have had to the property.”

(D) For purposes of this section, if a loan of property was made to a branch of the museum, the museum shall be considered to be located in the county in which the branch is located. Otherwise, the museum is considered to be located in the county in which it has its principal place of business.

Effective Date: 03-14-2003