A St. Petersburg woman has filed a federal class action complaint against Jimmy Patronis in his role as Florida’s chief financial officer, accusing the state of failing to pay owners of unclaimed properties just compensation.

Alieda Maron filed the lawsuit July 15 in the Northern District of Florida. It alleges that she and hundreds of thousands of other Floridians have had their rights under the Fifth Amendment’s takings clause violated when the state Department of Financial Services (DFS) acquired such properties for public use.

The Florida Disposition of Unclaimed Property Act applies to personal property held by third parties such as banks or insurance companies and considers such property “presumed unclaimed” if the owner fails to assert possession in writing within certain time constraints.

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