Legal Question in Banking Law in New Jersey

Check payable to two persons by the word And

They said according to NJSA12A:3-110d that if an instrument is ambiguous as to whether it is payable to the persons aternatively, the instrument is payable to the persons alternatively. How can one person get all the money from a check and deposit it into their account and the other person gets nothing. That just doesn't even sound fair or just. There's got to be justice for the other person of that check when half the money was his. Please help. Thank You


Asked on 9/02/08, 9:27 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
John Corbett Corbett Law Firm LLC

Re: Check payable to two persons by the word And

You are probably looking in the wrong place. I believe that the statute that you cite pertains to whether the bank can pay a check to one payee where there are others named. It protects the bank. That does not end the issue between the payees. If you are entitled to money from a transaction and another person has taken that money for themselves, then you have a cause of action against them. Additionally, if someone owes you money and has paid by writing a check to multiple parties in an ambiguous manner, then the debt might not be extinguished by the cashing of that check by another party.

See also: http://info.corbettlaw.net/lawguru.htm

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Answered on 9/02/08, 10:46 pm


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