Massachusetts General Laws ch. 200B sec. 4 – Notice to terminate loan of property; contents; acquisition of title by museum upon failure of lender to respond to notice or collect property
Section 4. (a) Unless a written loan agreement provides otherwise, a museum may give notice of the museum’s intent to terminate a loan of property at any time if:
Terms Used In Massachusetts General Laws ch. 200B sec. 4
- museum: shall include , but not be limited to, historical societies, historic sites, landmarks, parks, archives, monuments, botanical gardens, arboreta, zoos, nature centers, planetaria, aquaria, libraries, technology centers and art, history, science and natural history museums. See Massachusetts General Laws ch. 200B sec. 1
(1) the property was loaned to the museum for an indefinite term; or
(2) the property was loaned to the museum for a specified term and the term has expired.
(b) A mailed notice of intent to terminate a loan shall comply with subsection (b) of section 2, and shall include the following statement: ”The records of (name of museum) indicate that you have property on loan to it. The museum hereby terminates the loan. If you desire to claim the property, you must contact the museum, establish your ownership of the property, and make arrangements to collect the property. If you fail to do so within 1 year after the date on which this notice was delivered, you will be considered to have donated the property to the museum and the museum will become the owner of the property.”
(c) If a lender or claimant does not respond to a notice of intent to terminate a loan under this chapter and does not collect the property within 1 year from the date of the notice, the museum shall acquire title to the property and may sell, dispose of or retain the property.