Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Utah

Requirements for delivery and acceptance of notice of intent to sue

This may be the wrong forum as I am a practicing attorney, but if the attorney readers have an answer I would appreciate any help I can get with this problem. I have clients who passed a bad check not knowing they had insufficient funds in the account. The collection company called my clients once and informed them that they had a bad check. The collection company was informed that there was money in the bank and to pass the check back through the bank. The collection company also sent them a letter indicating that a bad check had been passed. In the state in which I practice there is a requirement that a formal notice must be sent out indicating the persons passing the check have 10 days to pay the check and the mandatory $15 fee. This statuate indicates that this notice must be sent befor suit can be brought. The statuate says the suit may be brought at the end of the 10 day period begining on the mailing date of the notice. The statuate does not indicate that the notice must be received. My client never received the statuatory notice. I have searched the law CDRoms for my state and found nothing pretaining to the receipt of such a notice by the debtor. Does anyone have knowledge of any citation that may show this requirement of delivery. that the not


Asked on 9/23/97, 2:56 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
John Maus Law Office of John R. Maus

Bad Check Notice

The participation of a collection agency sounds like this may be a civil, rather than criminal, case. In Virginia, we have no similar notice requirement in civil cases to collect on a bad check. We do have a statutory notice requirement in criminal prosecutions for bad checks. The sending of notice is required to establish the intent of the check writer to defraud. Our statute requires that notice be RECEIVED by the addressee UNLESS the check bears a pre-printed address and the notice is sent to that address. In that case, mere sending of the notice is sufficient to prove criminal intent. Going a step further, however, our statute also provides that, if the check is written on a closed account, no written notice need be sent or received because writing a check on a closed account is, of itself, sufficient to prove intent to defraud.

Read more
Answered on 9/24/97, 8:42 am


Related Questions & Answers

More General Civil Litigation questions and answers in Utah