Supreme Court of the United States · Official docket →
Jan Peters v. Malia M. Cohen, In Her Official Capacity as Chief Fiscal Officer, State Controller of California, and as Trustee of the Unclaimed Property Fund
Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, No. 24-1040 · judgment March 7, 2025
Before the decision, well below the 4.1% base rate, with no standout signals pointing toward a grant.
Questions presented
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Whether the Controller’s actions under color of the California Unclaimed Property Law, Cal. Civ. Proc. Code §§ 1300, et seq. (“UPL”), violate the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment because they deprive owners of their property without affording constitutionally adequate notice.
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Whether the Controller’s actions under color of the California UPL violate the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment because state employees and their commissioned private auditors seize, sell, and destroy private property without just compensation.
Counsel of record
For petitioner
William Wayne Palmer
Palmer Law Group, a PLC
For respondent
Sharon L. O'Grady
California Department of Justice
Case
Conference history
Distributed for 2 conferences
Amicus briefs
2 cert-stage
Proceedings
- Oct 14 2025Motion for leave to file amicus brief filed by FK Financial, Inc. DENIED.
- Oct 14 2025Petition DENIED.
- Oct 06 2025DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 10/10/2025.
- Aug 11 2025Motion for leave to file amicus brief filed by FK Financial, Inc. (Distributed)
- Aug 11 2025Amicus brief of Mary Bleick, et al. not accepted for filing. (To be corrected - August 29, 2025)
- Aug 11 2025Brief amici curiae of Mary Bleick, et al. filed. (Corrected) (Distributed)
- Aug 11 2025Brief amicus curiae of Choice Plus LLC filed. (Distributed)
- Aug 06 2025DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 9/29/2025.
- Aug 04 2025Waiver of right of respondent Malia M. Cohen to respond filed.
- Jun 05 2025Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due August 11, 2025)