Delaware v. Pennsylvania

In Delaware v. Pennsylvania, Delaware sued Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and other states in the U.S. Supreme Court's original jurisdiction over hundreds of millions of dollars in unclaimed MoneyGram official checks. MoneyGram, incorporated in Delaware, had remitted those funds to Delaware under the Federal Disposition Act. The defendant states argued the proceeds should escheat to the states where the checks were purchased. The Court interpreted the Act's term "money order" broadly to include MoneyGram's official checks, so the Act preempted conflicting state unclaimed-property laws. The ruling resolved which state is entitled to custody of unclaimed payment instruments issued by a Delaware-incorporated money transmitter.

The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously held that MoneyGram official checks qualify as "money orders" under the Federal Disposition Act; Delaware, as the state of incorporation, is entitled to the unclaimed funds.

Whether the Federal Disposition Act's definition of "money order" covers MoneyGram official checks, and whether that Act preempts state escheat laws so that unclaimed funds must go to the state of incorporation rather than the state of purchase.

The decision clarified the interstate allocation of unclaimed financial instruments, protected Delaware's escheat revenue, and gave states clearer guidance on federal preemption in unclaimed-property disputes involving non-bank payment instruments.