2023 New York Laws › ABP - Abandoned Property › Article 14 - General Provisions › 1404 - Assumption of Liability by the State; Return of Property Erroneously Paid to State Comptroller.

§  1404.  Assumption  of  liability  by  the  state;  return of property
erroneously paid to state comptroller.  1. The care and custody, subject
only to the duty of conversion prescribed in  section  fourteen  hundred
two  of  this  chapter, of all abandoned property heretofore paid to the
state, except
(i) abandoned property in individual amounts of less than  one  dollar
so  paid  pursuant  to chapter one hundred seven of the laws of nineteen
hundred forty-two; and of all  abandoned  property  paid  to  the  state
comptroller pursuant to this chapter;
(ii)  abandoned  property  so  paid  pursuant to chapter seven hundred
twenty-seven of the laws of nineteen  hundred  twenty-six,  or  as  such
chapter  was  amended  by chapter five hundred sixty-nine of the laws of
nineteen hundred twenty-seven, and section sixty of  chapter  fifty-four
of  the  laws  of  nineteen  hundred  twenty-nine,  prior to June first,
nineteen hundred forty-one; is hereby assumed for the benefit  of  those
entitled   to  receive  the  same,  and  the  state  shall  hold  itself
responsible for the payment of all claims established  thereto  pursuant
to  law,  less  any  lawful  deductions,  which  cannot be paid from the
abandoned property fund.
2.  Any   person,   copartnership,   unincorporated   association   or
corporation  making a payment of or delivering abandoned property to the
comptroller shall  immediately  and  thereafter  be  relieved  and  held
harmless  from  any or all liability for any claim or claims which exist
at such time with reference to such  abandoned  property  or  which  may
thereafter  be  made  or  may  come  into  existence on account of or in
respect of any such abandoned property.
3.  No action shall be maintained against any  person,  copartnership,
unincorporated association or corporation, or any officer thereof, for
(a)  the recovery of abandoned property paid or delivered to the state
comptroller  pursuant to this chapter or for interest thereon subsequent
to the date of the report  of  such  abandoned  property  to  the  state
comptroller pursuant to this chapter;
(b)    the recovery of abandoned property heretofore paid or delivered
to the state or for interest thereon subsequent  to  the  date  of  such
payment or delivery; or
(c)    damages  alleged  to  have  resulted  from  any such payment or
delivery.
4.  Whenever it appears to the satisfaction of the  state  comptroller
that  because of some mistake of fact, error in calculation or erroneous
interpretation of a statute, any person has paid  or  delivered  to  the
state comptroller, pursuant to any provision of this chapter, any moneys
or  other  property not required by the provisions of this chapter to be
so paid or  delivered,  he  shall  have  power,  during  the  six  years
immediately  succeeding such erroneous payment or delivery, to refund or
redeliver such moneys or other property to such  person;  provided  that
such  moneys  or  property  shall  not  have been paid or delivered to a
claimant or otherwise disposed of in accordance with the  provisions  of
this  article.    Moneys  or  other  property  deposited  with  a county
treasurer or the commissioner of finance  of the city of  New  York  for
the benefit of an infant pursuant to court order, which are or have been
erroneously  paid or delivered to the state comptroller, may be refunded
by the state comptroller at any time. Any such refund hereunder shall be
paid from the abandoned property  fund  without  the  deduction  of  any
service charge.
5.  Whenever, because of some mistake of fact, error in calculation or
erroneous interpretation of a statute, any person pays  or  delivers  to
the  state  comptroller any moneys or other property not required by the
provisions of this chapter to be so paid or delivered,  such  moneys  or

other  property shall, for the purposes of this article, be deemed to be
abandoned property, unless and until  refunded  or  redelivered  by  the
state comptroller to the person who paid or delivered the same to him.