Germantown Trust Co. v. Powell

Citations

• 265 Pa. 71
• 108 A. 441
• 1919 Pa. LEXIS 500

Syllabus

<p>Constitutional law — Escheats—Act of June 7, 1915, P. L. 878— Impairing obligation of contract — Due process of law — Equal protection of the law — Title of act — Special legislation — Classification Corporation — Statute of limitations.</p> <p>1. The Commonwealth by virtue of its sovereign power, may take charge of property abandoned .or unclaimed for a period of time.</p> <p>2. The Act of June 1, 1915, P. L. 878, entitled “An Act providing for the escheat of deposits of money or property of another received for storage or safe keeping,” etc., does not violate Art. I, Sec. 17, of the Constitution of Pennsylvania, and Art. I, Section 10, of the Constitution of the United States, by. impairing the obligation of the contract between the owner of the property and the depositary.</p> <p>3. The agreement of the bank or depositary is to keep the money and pay it on demand. When demand is made the contractual relation ends. A statute of escheat, in effect, simply provides for a termination of the contract of deposit, at the instance of the Commonwealth and by virtue of its sovereign power where there are no heirs to claim the property after the death of the owner, or after the expiration of such reasonable time as may be fixed by law to raise a presumption of death.</p> <p>4. While the Act of 1915 requires the filing of certain reports, for the information of the Commonwealth, a considerable time before an escheat is declared, this provision is reasonable and enables the Commonwealth to follow up property as to which there is no apparent claim of ownership.</p> <p>5. The act does not deprive an owner of his property without due process of law. While the fact of death is established only presumptively by failure of the owner or any known heirs to appear, this is not in itself sufficient to constitute a denial of due process of law, or the equal protection of the law within the meaning of the provisions of the State and Federal Constitutions.</p> <p>6. The title of the Ac