PHOENIX – Arizonans could soon get better notice if the state is holding on to their share of nearly $2.8 billion in unclaimed property that really belongs to them.

In a unanimous decision Monday, a three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals gave the go-ahead for two individuals to sue the state agency for failing to provide them with sufficient notice that it was holding on to money or other property that it listed as “unclaimed’’ or “abandoned.’’ The ruling now allows them to sue the agency for violating their due process rights.

Appellate Judge Danielle Forrest, writing for the court, rejected claims by attorneys for the state that it could not be sued.

“When someone – even the government – possesses property lawfully owned by another without the owner’s consent, an invasi

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