Estate of Dickson CA3

BACKGROUND

On September 10, 2012, Orr sued the State Controller to recover escheated property. (See Code Civ. Proc., § 1355.)1 He alleged Dickson died intestate on September 4, 2009, and that the San Bernardino County Superior Court had entered an order of final distribution on February 14, 2012, declaring the estate escheated. Orr alleged he was Dickson’s heir under the intestacy laws, being Dickson’s second cousin once removed, and had learned of the San Bernardino case via an heir tracing company. On October 18, 2012, the Sacramento Superior Court filed a judgment granting Orr’s petition. On December 20, 2012, Watkins filed what was captioned as a petition to modify the Sacramento County judgment, alleging he was a “paternal first cousin” of Dickson. He alleged that, through another heir tracing service, he notified the State Controller of his status as Dickson’s heir on September 10, 2012, but did not hear back until October 22, 2012, when the State Controller advised him of the Sacramento County judgment. Watkins argued that the State Controller was on notice of his claim and had a duty to notify him of the Sacramento action, and the failure to do so justified relief, in the…