In re Devlin

In In re Devlin, 182 AD2d 322 [2d Dept 1992], the Appellate Court held that the Surrogate's Court had the power to review the reasonableness of a fee imposed by one engaged in the business of locating owners of unclaimed assets and assisting in the recovery of such assets. Although the Court noted that the Abandoned Property Law was not directly applicable to In re Devlin because the estate at issue did not escheat to the State as abandoned property, the Court determined that the fee cap established by Abandoned Property Law 1416 (2) was properly considered by the Surrogate's Court (In re Devlin, 182 AD2d at 329). The Court noted with approval that the properly reduced fee awarded to the asset locator, inclusive of out-of-pocket expenses and attorney's fees, was approximately 15% of the recovered assets (In re Devlin, 182 AD2d at 330).