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§ 1239. (a) The power of Eminent Domain may be exercised by the government of Guam upon authorization and appropriation by the Guam Legislature of funds necessary for payment of just compensation. Such power shall be exercised by the Governor of Guam. If the Legislature enacts and the Governor approves an appropriation of funds for a specified public use, such appropriation shall be deemed to include the authorization for condemnation of private property for such use. (b) The power of Eminent Domain may also be exercised by the government of Guam upon authorization and appropriation of funds by the Congress of the United States for public use within the Territory of Guam. An appropriation by the Congress of the United States for a specific public use shall be deemed to authorize the acquisition by condemnation or otherwise of private property for such use. [Added by P.L. 8-14, effective March 9, 1965.] [See Government of Guam v. Moylan (1969) 407 F.2d. 567.]

§ 1240. Jurisdiction: procedure. The District Court of Guam shall have jurisdiction over all actions for the condemnation of private property for public use by the government of Guam. The procedure in such actions will be governed by the appropriate provisions of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and the Rules of the District Court of Guam. [Added by P.L. 8-14, effective March 9, 1965.]

§ 1241. Eminent Domain: lands, easements, or rights of way for public use; taking of possession and title in advance of final judgment; authority; procedure. In any proceeding in any court of the Territory of Guam which has been or may be instituted by and in the name of and under the authority of the government of Guam for the acquisition of any land, or easement, or right of way in land for the public use, the petitioner may file in the cause, with the petition or at any time before judgment, a declaration of taking signed by the authority empowered by law to acquire the lands described in the petition, declaring that said lands are thereby taken for the use of the government of Guam. Said declaration of taking shall contain or have annexed thereto

(1) A statement of the authority under which and the public use for which, said lands are taken.

(2) A description of the lands taken sufficient for the identification thereof.

(3) A statement of the estate or interest in said lands taken for such public use.

(4) A plan showing the lands taken.

(5) A statement of the sum of money estimated by said acquiring authority to be just compensation for the land taken. Upon the filing of said declaration of taking and of the deposit in the court, to the use of the persons entitled thereto, of the amount of the estimated compensation stated in said declaration, title to the said lands in fee simple absolute, or such estate or interest therein as is specified in said declaration, shall vest in the government of Guam, and said lands shall be deemed to be condemned and taken for the use of the government of Guam, and the right to just compensation for the same shall vest in the persons entitled thereto; and said compensation shall be ascertained and awarded in said proceeding and established by judgment therein, and the said judgment shall include, as part of the just compensation awarded, interest at the rate of six percent (6%) per annum on the amount finally awarded as the value of the property as of the date of taking, from said date to the date of payment; but interest shall not be allowed on so much thereof as shall have been paid into the court. No sum so paid into the court shall be charged with commissions or poundage.

Upon the application of the parties in interest, the court may order that the money deposited in the court, or any part thereof, be paid forthwith for or on account of the just compensation to be awarded in said proceeding. If the compensation finally awarded in respect of said lands, or any parcel thereof, shall exceed the amount of the money so received by any person entitled, the court shall enter judgment against the government of Guam for the amount of the deficiency.

Upon the filing of a declaration of taking, the court shall have the power to fix the time within which, and the terms upon which, the parties in possession shall be required to surrender possession to the petitioner. The court shall have power to make such orders in respect of encumbrances, liens, rents, taxes, assessments, insurance, and other charges, if any, as shall be just and equitable. [Added by P.L. 8-14, effective March 9, 1965.]

§ 1242. Same: taking in advance of final judgment; appeal or giving bond as preventing or delaying vesting of title. No appeal in any cause under this Title nor any bond or undertaking given therein shall operate to prevent or delay the vesting of title to such lands in the government of Guam. [Added by P.L. 8-14, effective March 9, 1965.]

§ 1243. Same: taking in advance of final judgment; obligation of the government of Guam to pay ultimate award when fixed. No action irrevocably committing the government of Guam to the payment of the ultimate award shall be taken unless the Governor of Guam shall be of the opinion that the ultimate award probably will be within any limits prescribed by the Guam Legislature or the Congress of the United States on the price to be paid. [Added by P.L. 8-14, effective March 9, 1965.]

§ 1244. Same: taking in advance of final judgment; right as additional to existing rights, powers, and authority. The right to take possession and title in advance of final judgment in condemnation proceedings as provided in this Title shall be in addition to any right, power, or authority conferred by the laws of the government of Guam and shall not be construed as abrogating, limiting, or modifying any such right, power, or authority. [Original § 1244 as enacted 1953, repealed and new § 1244 added by P.L. 8-14, effective March 9, 1965.]

§ 1245. When the taking of private property for public use in the Territory of Guam has been authorized either by the Guam Legislature or the Congress of the United States, the government of Guam and its employees, agents, and contractors shall have the right to enter upon any private property which is or may be involved in the public use concerned and to make such surveys as may be necessary to determine precisely the requirements for the public use involved.

If in the course of survey authorized by this section the private property surveyed is damaged to the detriment of the owner, the owner shall have and may assert in accordance with law a claim for compensation for such damage against the government of Guam. [Original § 1245 enacted 1953; repealed, and new § 1245 added by P.L. 8-14, effective March 9, 1965.] [Title V, consisting of §§ 1237-1258 was repealed, and new Title V, consisting of §§ 1237-1245 was added by P.L. 8-14, effective March 9, 1965.]

§ 1269.

§ 1269a.

§ 1270.

§ 1271.

§ 1272.

§ 1273.

§ 1274.

TITLE VI

Escheated Estates

Action on behalf of government of Guam.

Action to determine government's right to escheated property.
Receiver of income.

Appearance; trial of issues; order of sale.

Claim to escheated property.

Unclaimed bank deposits escheat to government of Guam.

Deposit of unclaimed property; escheat to government of Guam.

§ 1274a. Unclaimed moneys of missing persons.

§ 1269. Action on behalf of government of Guam. At any time after two (2) years after the death of any decedent, leaving property to which the government of Guam is entitled by reason of its having escheated to the government of Guam, the Island Attorney shall commence a proceeding on behalf of the government of Guam in the court having jurisdiction to have it adjudged that the government of Guam is so entitled. Such action shall be commenced by filing a petition, which shall be treated as the information elsewhere referred to in this Title. There shall be set forth in such petition a description of the property, the name of the person last possessed thereof, the name of the person, if any, claiming such property, or any portion thereof, and the facts and circumstances by virtue of which it is claimed the property has escheated.

Upon the filing of such petition, the court must make an order requiring all persons interested in the estate to appear and show cause, if any they have, within sixty (60) days from the date of the order, why such estate should not vest in the government of Guam. Such order must be posted for four (4) successive weeks on the public bulletin boards in Agana and, in case of real estate, a copy thereof on the property. Upon the completion of the publication of such order the court shall have full and complete jurisdiction over the estate, the property, and the person of everyone having or claiming any interest in the said property and shall have full and complete jurisdiction to hear and determine the issues therein, and render the appropriate judgment thereon.

If proceedings for the administration of such estate have been instituted, a copy of such order must be filed with the papers in such estate. If proceedings for the administration of any estate of any such decedent have been instituted and none of the persons entitled to succeed thereto has appeared and made claim to such property, or any portion thereof, before the decree of final distribution therein is made, or before the com

mencement of such proceeding by the Island Attorney, or if the court shall find that such persons as have appeared are not entitled to the property of such estate, or of any portion thereof, the court shall, upon final settlement of the proceedings for the administration of such estate, after the payment of all debts and expenses of administration, distribute all moneys and other property remaining to the government of Guam. The property so distributed shall be held by the Treasurer of Guam for a period of five (5) years from the date of the decree making such distribution within which time the same may be claimed in the manner in this Title hereafter provided. Any person who does not appear and claim as herein required shall be forever barred, and such property or so much thereof as is not so claimed shall vest absolutely in the government of Guam.

In any proceedings brought by the Island Attorney under this Title, any two or more parties and any two or more causes of action may be joined in the same proceeding and in the same petition without being separately stated, and it shall be sufficient to allege in the petition that the decedent left no heirs to take the estate, and the failure of heirs to appear and set up their claims in any such proceeding, or in any proceedings for the administration of such estate, shall be sufficient proof upon which to base the judgment in any such proceeding or such decree of distribution. [Enacted 1953.]

§ 1269a. Action to determine government of Guam's right to escheated property. Whenever the Island Attorney or Attorney General is informed that any estate has escheated or is about to escheat to the government of Guam or that the property involved in any action or special proceeding has escheated or is about to escheat to the government of Guam, he may commence an action on behalf of the government of Guam to determine its rights to said property or may intervene on its behalf in any action or special proceeding affecting any such estate and contest the rights of any claimant or claimants thereto. [Enacted 1953.]

§ 1270. Receiver of income. The court, upon the information being filed, and upon application of the Island Attorney or Attorney General, either before or after answer, upon notice to the party claiming the estate, if known, may upon sufficient cause therefor being shown, appoint a receiver to take charge of such estate, or any part thereof, or to receive the rents, income and profits of the same until the title of such estate is finally settled. [Enacted 1953.]

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