§ 28:3–602. Payment.

(a) Subject to subsection (e) of this section, an instrument is paid to the extent payment is made by or on behalf of a party obliged to pay the instrument to a person entitled to enforce the instrument.

(b) Subject to subsection (e) of this section, a note is paid to the extent payment is made by or on behalf of a party obliged to pay the note to a person that formerly was entitled to enforce the note only if at the time of the payment the party obliged to pay has not received adequate notification that the note has been transferred and that payment is to be made to the transferee. A notification is adequate only if it is signed by the transferor or the transferee, reasonably identifies the transferred note, and provides an address at which subsequent payments are to be made. Upon request, a transferee shall seasonably furnish reasonable proof that the note has been transferred. Unless the transferee complies with the request, a payment to the person that formerly was entitled to enforce the note is effective for purposes of subsection (c) of this section even if the party obliged to pay the note has received a notification under this section.

(c) Subject to subsection (e) of this section, to the extent of a payment under subsections (a) or (b) of this section, the obligation of the party obliged to pay the instrument is discharged even though payment is made with knowledge of a claim to the instrument under § 28:3-306 by another person.

(d) Subject to subsection (e) of this section, a transferee, or any party that has acquired rights in the instrument directly or indirectly from a transferee, including any such party that has rights as a holder in due course, is deemed to have notice of any payment that is made under subsection (b) of this section after the date that the note is transferred to the transferee but before the party obliged to pay the note receives adequate notification of the transfer.

(e) The obligation of a party to pay the instrument is not discharged under subsections (a) through (d) of this section if:

(1) A claim to the instrument under § 28:3-306 is enforceable against the party receiving payment and either payment is made with knowledge by the payor that payment is prohibited by injunction or similar process of a court of competent jurisdiction, or, in the case of an instrument other than a cashier’s check, teller’s check, or certified check, the party making payment accepted, from the person having a claim to the instrument, indemnity against loss resulting from refusal to pay the person entitled to enforce the instrument; or

(2) The person making payment knows that the instrument is a stolen instrument and pays a person it knows is in wrongful possession of the instrument.

(f) As used in this section, “signed”, with respect to a record that is not a writing, includes the attachment to or logical association with the record of an electronic symbol, sound, or process with the present intent to adopt or accept the record.

(Dec. 30, 1963, 77 Stat. 691, Pub. L. 88-243, § 1; Mar. 23, 1995, D.C. Law 10-249, § 2(d), 42 DCR 467; Apr. 27, 2013, D.C. Law 19-299, § 5(l), 60 DCR 2634.)

Prior Codifications

1981 Ed., § 28:3-602.

1973 Ed., § 28:3-603.

Section References

This section is referenced in § 28:3-103.

Effect of Amendments

The 2013 amendment by D.C. Law 19-299 rewrote the section.

Uniform Commercial Code Comment

This section replaces former Section 3-603(1). The phrase “claim to the instrument” in subsection (a) means, by reference to Section 3-306, a claim of ownership or possession and not a claim in recoupment. Subsection (b)(1)(ii) is added to conform to Section 3-411. Section 3-411 is intended to discourage an obligated bank from refusing payment of a cashier’s check, certified check or dishonored teller’s check at the request of a claimant to the check who provided the bank with indemnity against loss. See Comment 1 to Section 3-411. An obligated bank that refuses payment under those circumstances not only remains liable on the check but may also be liable to the holder of the check for consequential damages. Section 3-602(b)(1)(ii) and Section 3-411, read together, change the rule of former Section 3-603(1) with respect to the obligation of the obligated bank on the check. Payment to the holder of a cashier’s check, teller’s check, or certified check discharges the obligation of the obligated bank on the check to both the holder and the claimant even though indemnity has been given by the person asserting the claim. If the obligated bank pays the check in violation of an agreement with the claimant in connection with the indemnity agreement, any liability that the bank may have for violation of the agreement is not governed by Article 3, but is left to other law. This section continues the rule that the obligor is not discharged on the instrument if payment is made in violation of an injunction against payment. See Section 3-411(c)(iv).