Unclaimed Articles Act

Short title

1 This Act may be cited as the Unclaimed Articles Act. R.S., c. 486, s. 1.

Application of Act

2 This Act shall apply in the case of

(a) any article of clothing or household goods of the value of not more than two hundred dollars which

(i) is deposited with a person for cleaning, pressing, dyeing, glazing, washing or repairing, and

(ii) through no fault of the person with whom it is deposited, remains in his possession for a period of not less than six months,

(b) any article of clothing or household goods of the value of not more than two hundred dollars which

(i) is deposited with a person for storage whether or not it is also deposited for cleaning, pressing, dyeing, glazing, washing or repairing, and

(ii) through no fault of the person with whom it is deposited, remains in his possession for a period of not less than two years,

Notice of disposal of article for non-payment

3 (1) Upon the expiration of the period mentioned in subclause (ii) of clause (a) or subclause (ii) of clause (b) of Section 2, as the case may be, the person with whom an article is deposited may cause to be served by personal service upon

(a) the owner of the article;

(b) the person who deposited the article; or

(c) an adult person, at the address

(i) where the owner or person who deposited the article resides, or

(ii) furnished by the owner or person who deposited the article at the time the article was deposited,

a notice stating

(d) the amount of the agreed or reasonable charges in respect of the article; and

(e) that, if such charges are not paid within thirty days of the date of the service of the notice, the article will be disposed of.

Notice may apply to more than one article

(2) Any notice under this Section may be in respect of more than one article belonging to or deposited by the same person. R.S., c. 480, s. 3.

Inability to effect personal service of notice

4 Where the whereabouts of the owner of and the person depositing an article cannot be ascertained and after all reasonable inquiries it is found that Section 3 cannot be complied with, the person with whom an article is deposited may, without effecting service of notice as required by Section 3, dispose thereof in the manner prescribed by Section 5. R.S., c. 480, s. 4.

Disposal by sale or gift

5 (1) Upon the expiration of the thirty day period mentioned in subsection (1) of Section 3, the person with whom the article is deposited may dispose of it by

(a) giving it to a charitable organization or giving it to any organization in order that it may be used for charitable purposes; or

(b) selling it, by auction or private sale.

Proceeds of sale

(2) Upon such sale being made as aforesaid the person with whom the article is deposited may out of the proceeds of the sale pay to himself the agreed or reasonable charges owing to such person, together with the cost and expenses including cost of advertising, of the sale and shall within thirty days after the sale pay to the Accountant General of the Supreme Court, the surplus if any, remaining after the sale after payment to himself as aforesaid, provided that within the said period of thirty days the said surplus may be paid over to the owner of the article sold as aforesaid, and the Accountant General of the Supreme Court shall have authority to pay out the said surplus to any person under an order of a judge of the county court or Supreme Court.

Record of disposal

(3) Every person who disposes of articles under this Section shall maintain a record of the articles disposed of and the persons or organizations to whom they are disposed. R.S., c. 480, s. 5.

Affidavit as prima facie evidence

6 Where an article has been disposed of under this Act, prima facie evidence of compliance with this Act or of the existence of any fact or the doing of any act may be given in any court by the affidavit of a person having actual knowledge thereof. R.S., c. 480, s. 6.

Disposal relinquishes claim

7 Where an article has been disposed of under this Act, the person who disposed of it shall thereby relinquish all claims against the owner or person depositing it for unpaid charges for services upon or storage of the article. R.S., c. 480, s. 7.

Rights under certain other Acts unaffected

8 This Act shall not affect the right of any person to proceed in the manner prescribed by the Storage Warehouse Keepers Act or by the Mechanics Lien Act. R.S., c. 480, s. 8.