First Priority Rule: This refers to the first of three priority rules used to determine which U.S. state or U.S. territory has priority with respect to claiming Escheat of an item of unclaimed property pursuant to an Unclaimed Property Statute. The First Priority Rule is a rule of federal common law set by the U.S. Supreme Court. It has also been codified in various forms in some state Unclaimed Property Statutes. In the world of Cards, the rule generally focuses upon the state or territory of residence of the Cardholder if such Cardholder information is on the records of the card issuer – all subject to a variety of issues.
