Can the Texas Comptroller refuse to pay unclaimed property proceeds directly to a company that bought the claim?

Plain-English summary

Susan Combs, then the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, asked the Attorney General about who may receive direct payments of unclaimed property proceeds under section 74.501 of the Property Code. Her office had received a wave of claims from people who had purchased unclaimed property, or rights to it, in court proceedings around the country. The Comptroller's longstanding policy was not to pay assignees, transferees, or purchasers directly, and she asked whether reading the word "assignee" in the statute to cover a purchaser for value was legally supportable.

Subsection 74.501(e) bars the Comptroller from making unclaimed property payments to a creditor, judgment creditor, lienholder, or "assignee" of the reported owner or the owner's heirs, and to a person holding a power of attorney from them. The term "assignee" is not defined in the part of the Property Code that deals with unclaimed property, so the opinion turned to its plain and common meaning. Dictionaries define "assignee" broadly as any person to whom a right or property is legally transferred, without limiting how or why the transfer happens. On that reading, a purchaser for value can be an "assignee."

The opinion framed the answer around deference rather than a flat command. The Comptroller is the agency charged with implementing and enforcing the unclaimed property statutes, and under Texas Supreme Court case law a court gives "serious consideration" to an enforcing agency's interpretation as long as the reading is reasonable and does not conflict with the statute's language. Because reading "assignee" to include a purchaser for value fits the common meaning and the statute, the opinion concluded that a court would likely defer to the Comptroller's construction. In practical terms, the Comptroller's policy of declining direct payment to purchasers of unclaimed property rested on a reasonable reading of the statute.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2012. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later Attorney General opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

What the opinion meant for those who asked

The Comptroller (as the opinion held for her): The opinion concluded that her office's reading of "assignee" to include a purchaser for value was reasonable, and that a court would likely defer to it, supporting the policy of not paying purchasers directly.

Businesses that buy unclaimed property claims (as the opinion described it): The opinion treated a buyer of unclaimed property or unclaimed property rights as fitting the ordinary meaning of "assignee," the category the statute bars from direct payment by the Comptroller.

Reported owners and their heirs (as the opinion described it): The opinion left the statute's structure intact, under which the Comptroller is restricted from paying the listed intermediaries, a list the opinion read to include purchasers.

Common questions

Can someone who bought an unclaimed property claim collect directly from the Texas Comptroller?
According to the opinion, probably not. The opinion concluded that a court would likely defer to the Comptroller's reasonable reading of "assignee" to include a purchaser for value, and subsection 74.501(e) bars direct payment to an assignee.

Why does the Comptroller's interpretation matter so much?
The opinion explained that the Comptroller is the agency charged with enforcing section 74.501, and Texas courts give an enforcing agency's reasonable interpretation serious consideration so long as it does not conflict with the statute's plain language.

What does "assignee" mean here?
The opinion relied on dictionary definitions of "assignee" as any person to whom a right or property is legally transferred, which it read broadly enough to cover someone who bought the property for value.

Did the Attorney General order the Comptroller to refuse these payments?
No. The opinion did not issue a flat rule; it concluded the Comptroller's construction was reasonable and would likely receive judicial deference.

Background and statutory framework

Property Code section 74.501(e) lists the persons the Comptroller may not pay for unclaimed property, including an "assignee of the reported owner or of the owner's heirs." Tex. Prop. Code Ann. § 74.501(e) (West 2007). A separate subsection allows a narrow exception for child-support arrearage claims. Id. § 74.501(f) (West 2007). The Comptroller is charged with enforcing these provisions. Id. §§ 74.701-.710 (West 2007 & Supp. 2011). Because "assignee" is undefined in the unclaimed property title, id. §§ 71.001-76.704 (West 2007 & Supp. 2011), the opinion used the term's common meaning, noting that the Legislature has defined "assignee" differently in other, unrelated chapters. See Tex. Prop. Code Ann. § 64.001(a) (West Supp. 2011); Tex. Bus. & Comm. Code Ann. § 23.01(2) (West 2009); Tex. Util. Code Ann. § 39.302(1) (West Supp. 2011).

The deference principle came from Texas Supreme Court decisions giving "serious consideration" to an enforcing agency's reasonable statutory construction. R.R. Comm'n of Tex. v. Tex. Citizens for a Safe Future & Clean Water, 336 S.W.3d 619, 624 (Tex. 2011); see also Tex. Lottery Comm'n v. First State Bank of DeQueen, 325 S.W.3d 628, 635 (Tex. 2010) (undefined words take their plain and common meaning). The opinion also drew on case law describing an assignment as the transfer of property or a right or interest. Johnson v. Structured Asset Servs., L.L.C., 148 S.W.3d 711, 721 (Tex. App.-Dallas 2004, no pet.).

Citations

Cases:

• R.R. Comm'n of Tex. v. Tex. Citizens for a Safe Future & Clean Water, 336 S.W.3d 619, 624 (Tex. 2011)
• Tex. Lottery Comm'n v. First State Bank of DeQueen, 325 S.W.3d 628, 635 (Tex. 2010)
• Johnson v. Structured Asset Servs., L.L.C., 148 S.W.3d 711, 721 (Tex. App.-Dallas 2004, no pet.)

Statutes:

• Tex. Prop. Code Ann. § 74.501(e) (West 2007)
• Tex. Prop. Code Ann. § 74.501(f) (West 2007)
• Tex. Prop. Code Ann. §§ 74.701-.710 (West 2007 & Supp. 2011)
• Tex. Prop. Code Ann. §§ 71.001-76.704 (West 2007 & Supp. 2011)
• Tex. Prop. Code Ann. § 64.001(a) (West Supp. 2011)
• Tex. Bus. & Comm. Code Ann. § 23.01(2) (West 2009)
• Tex. Util. Code Ann. § 39.302(1) (West Supp. 2011)

Source

• Landing page: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/opinions/greg-abbott/ga-0906
• Original PDF: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/files/opinion-files/opinion/2012/ga0906.pdf

Original opinion text

Best-effort transcription from the official PDF. Minor extraction artifacts were corrected; the linked PDF is authoritative.

ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
GREG ABBOTT

January 12, 2012

The Honorable Susan Combs Opinion No. GA-0906
Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts
Post Office Box 13528 Re: Whether section 74.501 of the Property Code
Austin, Texas 78711-3528 prohibits the Comptroller from making direct
payments of unclaimed property proceeds to
certain persons (RQ-0988-GA)

Dear Comptroller Combs:

You request an opinion regarding who may receive direct payments of unclaimed property proceeds under section 74.501 of the Property Code.[1] You tell us that the Office of the Comptroller of Public Accounts ("the Comptroller") "has recently received a significant number of unclaimed property claims from claimants who have purchased unclaimed property or unclaimed property rights in proceedings before various courts of competent jurisdiction throughout the United States." Request Letter at 1. You also explain that your office has had a longstanding policy of not making direct payments to "assignees, transferees or purchasers of unclaimed property." Id. You therefore ask us to opine on whether, by enacting section 74.501 of the Property Code, the Legislature prohibited your office from paying claims to the purchasers of unclaimed property or unclaimed property rights. Id.

Your office is prohibited by subsection 74.501(e) "from paying assignees or any other type of purchaser of unclaimed property or unclaimed property rights." Id. Subsection 74.501(e) expressly prohibits the Comptroller from making payments for unclaimed property to the following individuals:

(1) a creditor, a judgment creditor, a lienholder, or an assignee of the reported owner or of the owner's heirs; or

(2) a person holding a power of attorney from the reported owner or the owner's heirs.

TEX. PROP. CODE ANN. § 74.501(e) (West 2007) (emphasis added).[2] You define the term "assignee" as used in subsection 74.501(e)(1) to include an individual who has purchased for value the unclaimed property of another and ask whether this definition is legally supportable. Request Letter at 1-2.

We note at the outset that the Comptroller is charged with implementing and enforcing the statutory provisions relating to unclaimed property under the Property Code. See TEX. PROP. CODE ANN. §§ 74.701-.710 (West 2007 & Supp. 2011) (Title 6 "Unclaimed Property," Chapter 74, subchapter H, "Enforcement"). According to the Texas Supreme Court, an agency's interpretation of a statute it is charged with enforcing is entitled to "serious consideration," so long as the construction is reasonable and does not conflict with the statute's language. R.R. Comm'n of Tex. v. Tex. Citizens for a Safe Future & Clean Water, 336 S.W.3d 619, 624 (Tex. 2011). Keeping this rule in mind, we analyze the Comptroller's construction of the word "assignee."

The word "assignee" is not defined within the Title 6 of the Property Code, which addresses unclaimed property. See TEX. PROP. CODE ANN. §§ 71.001-76.704 (West 2007 & Supp. 2011).[3] When the Legislature does not provide a specific definition for a word, we rely on the plain and common meaning of the word. Tex. Lottery Comm'n v. First State Bank of DeQueen, 325 S.W.3d 628, 635 (Tex. 2010). Multiple dictionaries define "assignee" broadly to mean any person "to whom a right or property is legally transferred." 1 OXFORD ENGLISH DICTIONARY 713 (2d ed. 1989); WEBSTER'S NINTH NEW COLLEGIATE DICTIONARY 109 (9th ed. 1990); see also Johnson v. Structured Asset Servs., L.L.C., 148 S.W.3d 711, 721 (Tex. App.-Dallas 2004, no pet.) (describing "assignment" as "the transfer or setting over of property, or some right or interest."). These definitions do not specify how or why the transfer takes place, other than to require that the transfer be legal. It therefore appears that a reasonable construction of the word "assignee" could include a person to whom property is transferred based on a purchase of the property for value, regardless of whether that transfer is also incorporated into a court order. As the agency charged with enforcing section 74.501, the Comptroller's reasonable construction of the word assignee, as used in that statute, would likely be shown deference by the courts.

SUMMARY

As the agency charged with implementing and enforcing Property Code section 74.501, the Comptroller's construction of the word "assignee," as used in that section, would be shown deference by the courts so long as it is reasonable and not contrary to the plain language of the statute. A reasonable construction of the word "assignee" could include a person to whom property is transferred based on a purchase of the property for value.

Very truly yours,

DANIEL T. HODGE
First Assistant Attorney General

DAVID J. SCHENCK
Deputy Attorney General for Legal Counsel

JASON BOATRIGHT
Chair, Opinion Committee

Virginia K. Hoelscher
Assistant Attorney General, Opinion Committee

[1] See Letter from the Office of the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, to Honorable Greg Abbott, Attorney General of Texas at 1-2 (July 28, 2011), https://www.oag.state.tx.us/opin/index_rq.shtml ("Request Letter").

[2] We note that subsection 74.501(f) allows the Comptroller to make an exception for individuals who have "a claim for child support arrearages" in specific instances. See TEX. PROP. CODE ANN. § 74.501(f) (West 2007).

[3] For purposes of other statutes, the Legislature has defined "assignee" in various ways. See, e.g., TEX. PROP. CODE ANN. § 64.001(a) (West Supp. 2011) (defining "assignee" as "a person entitled to enforce an assignment of rents"); TEX. BUS. & COMM. CODE ANN. § 23.01(2) (West 2009) (defining "assignee" as "an assignee for the benefit of creditors"); TEX. UTIL. CODE ANN. § 39.302(1) (West Supp. 2011) (defining "assignee" as "any individual, corporation or other legally recognized entity to which an interest in transition property is transferred, other than as security, including any assignee of that party"). These definitions are each limited to use in the chapter in which they are found and provide little guidance for use outside of those chapters.