Check Guide - Manatt, Phelps & Phillips

The

Check Guide

February 2008

Gene Elerding

Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP

310.312.4158

gelerding@

Note to Readers

Legal Advice. This Guide is not intended to express any legal opinions or to provide legal

advice. You should consult an attorney for legal advice.

Code Interpretations. You should refer to the actual code provisions that are cited in the text,

as I have employed a degree of poetic license in summarizing and describing the law. Since the

actual wording may be slightly different, I have added an index at the end to help you find your

way.

California¡¯s UCC. This Guide is based primarily on California¡¯s version of the Uniform

Commercial Code. California¡¯s UCC varies in a few respects from the ¡°Official Text¡± of the

uniform law employed by other states. For example, the words ¡°substantially contributes¡± are

changed to ¡°contributes¡± in California¡¯s version of Section 3406 (¡°Failure to Exercise Ordinary

Care¡±). Note also: New York and South Carolina have not adopted the 1990 version of the

UCC.

Case Code Citations. Readers should bear in mind that pre-1991 cases often refer to sections

of the UCC that were relocated with the revised code in the 1990s (e.g., the warranty sections).

Unless you keep this in mind, reading older cases can be a confusing experience. Note also that

some states use a different UCC numbering system (e.g., in Virginia ¡ì 4208 warranties are found

at ¡ì 4207).

Copies of This Guide. With appropriate attribution, please feel free to copy, use, and distribute

this Guide as you wish to others.

Online, Searchable Copy. You can search this Guide by going to , clicking

on ¡°White Papers,¡± clicking on ¡°2008 Check Guide,¡± and using the ¡°Search¡± button.

Regards,

Gene Elerding

February 2008

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

FORGED MAKER CHECKS ........................................................................................ 1

A.

General Rule .......................................................................................................... 1

B.

Payor Bank Defenses ............................................................................................. 2

C.

Depositary Bank Defenses................................................................................... 13

FORGED PAYEE CHECKS ........................................................................................ 14

A.

General Rule ........................................................................................................ 14

B.

Depositary Bank Defenses................................................................................... 17

ALTERATIONS ............................................................................................................ 28

A.

General Rule ........................................................................................................ 28

B.

Material v. Immaterial Alterations....................................................................... 28

C.

Right to Enforce Altered Check........................................................................... 30

D.

Payor Bank Defenses ........................................................................................... 30

E.

Depositary and Collecting Bank Liability ........................................................... 35

FORGED/ALTERED CHECK CLAIM PROCEDURE ........................................... 37

A.

Obtain an Affidavit of Forgery/Alteration........................................................... 37

B.

Obtain Copies of the Forged/Altered Checks ...................................................... 41

C.

Determine the Circumstances of the Loss ........................................................... 41

D.

File a Suspicious Activity Report and Report Suspected Elder Financial

Abuse. .................................................................................................................. 42

E.

Provisional Crediting, Suspension and/or Closure .............................................. 42

F.

Taking Action ...................................................................................................... 42

G.

Adverse Claims and Disputes .............................................................................. 56

TIMING ISSUES ........................................................................................................... 64

A.

Midnight Deadline ............................................................................................... 64

B.

Stop Payment Orders, Knowledge, Setoff and Legal Process ............................. 72

C.

Chargeback .......................................................................................................... 73

D.

Federal Reserve Challenge Procedure ................................................................. 74

CHECK KITES.............................................................................................................. 75

A.

Definition ............................................................................................................. 75

B.

Elements............................................................................................................... 75

C.

General Rule ........................................................................................................ 75

D.

Discovering the Kite ............................................................................................ 75

-i-

TABLE OF CONTENTS

(continued)

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

E.

Interrupting the Kite............................................................................................. 76

F.

The Aftermath of a Kite....................................................................................... 77

STOP PAYMENT ORDERS ........................................................................................ 79

A.

General Rule ........................................................................................................ 79

B.

Proof of Damage .................................................................................................. 79

C.

Subrogation .......................................................................................................... 79

D.

Holder in Due Course. ......................................................................................... 80

MISENCODED CHECKS ............................................................................................ 84

A.

General Rule ........................................................................................................ 84

B.

Damages............................................................................................................... 84

C.

Defenses............................................................................................................... 84

DEATH/INCOMPETENCE OF CUSTOMER .......................................................... 85

A.

Death .................................................................................................................... 85

B.

Incompetence ....................................................................................................... 85

C.

Knowledge of Death/Incompetence..................................................................... 85

D.

Bankruptcy........................................................................................................... 85

SUBSTITUTE CHECKS .............................................................................................. 87

A.

General Rule ........................................................................................................ 87

B.

Bank Warranties................................................................................................... 87

C.

Bank Indemnity.................................................................................................... 88

D.

Consumer Rights.................................................................................................. 88

¡°FULL PAYMENT¡± CHECKS.................................................................................... 91

A.

General Rule ........................................................................................................ 91

B.

Exceptions............................................................................................................ 91

12.

ACCOUNT TERMS THAT PROTECT THE BANK ............................................... 92

13.

DEFINITIONS ............................................................................................................. 103

14.

UCC INDEX ................................................................................................................. 108

-ii-

1.

FORGED MAKER CHECKS

A.

General Rule

?

A customer is not liable for a check drawn on his account if he didn¡¯t sign the

check or benefit from its proceeds.1

?

As between the maker¡¯s bank and the depositary bank (or any collecting

bank), the maker¡¯s bank is usually liable for a forged maker signature.2

¨C

Not properly payable. Without the customer¡¯s signature, the check is not

considered to be ¡°properly payable.¡±3

¨C

Impact on other checks. If the payment of a forged check causes other

legitimate checks to be returned, the customer¡¯s bank may be liable for

damages proximately caused by such ¡°wrongful dishonor.¡±4 In light of

this, consideration should be given to closing an account with forged

maker checks, not only to prevent the processing of other forged checks,

but to prevent the future dishonor of other legitimate checks pending the

bank¡¯s review and possible reimbursement of the account. The customer

should be notified of the closure and advised to stop issuing checks against

the account. Note: Advance notice may be appropriate if the customer is

receiving electronic deposits of social security or if the customer

participates in cash management services (e.g., contract collection or

lockbox) where immediate termination might harm the customer.

¨C

Missing signature. If the signature of more than one person is required to

constitute the authorized signature of an organization, the signature of the

organization is deemed to be ¡°unauthorized¡± if one of the required

signatures is missing.5

1

This rule dates back to the English case of Price v. Neal, 97 Eng. Rep. 871 (K.B. 1762). A bank¡¯s initial liability for paying a forged check

applies without regard to whether it exercised due care or was negligent. Roy Supply, Inc. v. Wells Fargo Bank, 39 Cal. App. 4th 1051, 46

Cal. Rptr. 2d 309 (1995). Unless the account agreement provides otherwise, a customer is not liable for an overdraft by another

accountholder if he neither signed the item nor benefited from its proceeds. UCC ¡ì 4401(b). (Note: All code (¡ì) cites are to the

California Uniform Commercial Code unless otherwise indicated).

2

A forgery is an unauthorized signature. UCC ¡ì 1201(41). A counterfeit check is a forged check. For a discussion of counterfeit checks,

see Brady on Bank Checks, Revised Edition, ? 28.03.

3

UCC ¡ì¡ì 3401(a) and 4401(a).

4

A payor bank is liable to its customer for damages proximately caused by the wrongful dishonor of an item. Liability is limited to actual

damages proved and may include damages for an arrest or prosecution of the customer or other consequential damages. UCC ¡ì 4402.

5

UCC ¡ì 3403(b).

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