Law Commons^™

Coordination Of The Uniform Commercial Code And Common Law, Kenneth C. Kettering

University of Cincinnati Law Review

Deciding whether an issue that is in the ambit of a statute should be resolved by reference to the statute alone, or whether other sources of law should be applied, is a common interpretative task. The Uniform Commercial Code ("UCC") contains rules of interpretation that address the subject, and those rules have not been altered since the UCC was first generally enacted. Nevertheless, questions often arise on the subject under the UCC. This paper examines the UCC rules on point. The analysis is germane to the interpretation and drafting of other statutes that codify rules of private law.

Social Justice And Deposit Return Calculations: A Study Of Success And Failure In Commercial Law Reform, William H. Widen

St. John's Law Review

(Excerpt)

This Article proceeds as follows: Part I describes case law which uses a “penalty” interpretation for § 2-718(2) and (3). Part II describes case law in which courts do not apply a penalty. Part III offers a penalty-free interpretation for § 2-718(2) and (3) that remains true to the statutory language. These three parts make extensive use of numerical examples and explanations. Although the presentation may seem dense in parts, an appreciation of the numbers is essential to understanding both the problem and the solution.

Part IV describes the drafting history of § 2-718(2) and (3) to support the …

Uniform Commercial Acts, Samuel Williston

Dickinson Law Review (2017-Present)

No abstract provided.

The Uniform Commercial Acts, J.P. Mckeehan

Dickinson Law Review (2017-Present)

The Commissioners on Uniform State Laws have had twenty- five annual conferences. The principal fruit of their labors is represented by the Negotiable Instruments Act, enacted in forty-seven jurisdictions; the Warehouse Receipts Act, enacted in thirty-one jurisdictions; the Sales Act, enacted in fourteen jurisdictions, the Bills of Lading Act enacted in thirteen jurisdictions, and the Stock Transfer Act, enacted in nine jurisdictions. They have also drafted acts relating to divorce, family desertion, probate of wills, marriage evasion, workmen’s compensation and partnership but these have not yet been enacted in more than a few states. All of the commercial acts are …

Congress And The 1980 International Sales Convention, Peter Winship

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Congress' Role In The International Unification Of Private Law, Peter H. Pfund, George Taft

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Annual Survey Of Virginia Law: 1999 Technology Legislation In Virginia, Diane E. Horvath, John S. Jung

University of Richmond Law Review

During its 1999 Session, the Virginia General Assembly passed sixty-four pieces oflegislation related to technology that were signed into law. Of these, eighteen bills and resolutions were proposed by the Joint Commission on Technology and Science ("JCOTS").

A Literalist Proposes Four Modest Revisions To U.C.C. Article 3, Timothy R. Zinnecker

University of Richmond Law Review

I first taught a Payment Systems class during the fall of 1994. Not having taken the course in law school, and bringing very little "real world" experience in this area of commercial law to the classroom, I approached the task of teaching the course with some degree of fear and trepidation. I had already taught Secured Transactions, so I was familiar with the challenges of teaching a statutory course to a reluctant audience scarred by horror stories of their predecessors. I also audited a Payment Systems course taught by a colleague during the summer, so I had a good start …

Allocation Of Loss Due To Fraudulent Wholesale Wire Transfers: Is There A Negligence Action Against A Beneficiary's Bank After Article 4a Of The Uniform Commercial Code?, Robert M. Lewis

Michigan Law Review

This Note argues that where a bank reasonably should have known of a fraud but still pays out a wire transfer to an unauthorized recipient, common law negligence should provide a basis for recovery despite the absence of an explicit Code provision imposing liability on the bank. Part I examines the UCC's language itself and analyzes possible cases, under 4A and under articles 3 and 4 by analogy, and discusses the applicability of these other parts of the UCC to wire transfers. Part II examines how extra-Code regulatory systems and the common law would determine wire transfer liability. Part II …

Interpreting Codes, Bruce W. Frier

Michigan Law Review

Large systematically codified bodies of law, such as the European codes or the UCC, gradually effect, or at least encourage, a different kind of legal culture, in which, as such codes are integrated within a national legal heritage, general clauses and principles become more salient within an expanded interpretive community. Because of the open texture of their rules, codes foster an altered legal posture; ancient judicial vigilance against the intrusive legislation may give way to a new ethos of cooperation in the development of law. To be sure, it remains uncertain whether the resulting law will be, in fact, "better," …

Preserving Purchase Money Security Interests And Allocating Payments, Lynda Kay Chandler

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

This Note explores the rationale underlying the courts' conflicting decisions in light of the purposes of the UCC. It concludes that the language of the UCC and its goals of uniformity and simplification require that a PMSI should not be entirely destroyed because a creditor also has a security interest in items the debtor acquired after the purchase money transaction or because a creditor extends additional credit. The best solution is to permit the creditor to retain a PMSI, to the extent of the purchase money loan, in those goods that the creditor's loan helped to purchase.

Part I is …

Privity Revisited: Tort Recovery By A Commercial Buyer For A Defective Product's Self-Inflicted Damage, Mark A. Kaprelian

Michigan Law Review

This Note argues that if a seller and a commercial buyer are in privity, damage to a product resulting from its own defect should not be recoverable by a commercial buyer in a tort action. Part I shows how the conflict arises and examines the judicial boundaries that are normally drawn between tort and warranty liability. Part II contrasts the rationales for the warranty and tort remedies, with particular emphasis on the Uniform Commercial Code and Section 402A of the Restatement (Second) of Torts. Part III argues that if a seller and a commercial buyer are in privity and …

The Transformation Rule Under Section 522 Of The Bankruptcy Code Of 1978, Raymond B. Check

Michigan Law Review

This Note rejects the statutory arguments that have been advanced in favor of the transformation rule, and argues that the rule is inconsistent with both the policies motivating section 522 of the Bankruptcy Code and the overall purposes of the U.C.C. priority system. Part I examines the treatment of purchase money security in the U.C.C. scheme. It also describes the exemption provisions of the 1978 Bankruptcy Code and the legislative concerns that shaped those provisions. Part II summarizes the judicial adoption of the transformation rule and the statutory basis relied upon by courts in applying it. Part III argues that …

Action Accrual Date For Written Warranties To Repair: Date Of Delivery Or Date Of Failure To Repair?, Carey A. Dewitt

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

This Note argues that the statute of limitations for an action for breach of a repair warranty should begin to run not when the goods are delivered (on-delivery rule), but when the manufacturer has failed to repair the goods (failure-to-repair rule). Part I considers the current division of authority relating to the action accrual date (the date at which the limitations period begins) for repair warranties. It analyzes the issue of whether the repair warranty is a species of future performance warranty under section 2-725(2) and examines non-Code law on repair promises. Part II discusses the advantages and disadvantages of …

Products Liability And The Virginia Statute Of Limitations - A Call For The Legislative Rescue Squad, Robert I. Stevenson

University of Richmond Law Review

In recent years a flood of federally-funded scientific break-throughs have on almost a weekly basis established that some form of cancer or other dreaded disease is "caused" by exposure to a man-made product often not previously suspected of having a toxic tendency. Persons so afflicted then seek recovery from the product manufacturer. Their basis in tort is either for negligence in producing so harmful (and thus defective) a product, or for having failed to warn of the danger, or for "strict liability" within Section 402A of the Restatement (Second) of Torts. Where, as in Virginia, there is uncertainty as to …

Standards For Insecurity Acceleration Under Section 1-208 Of The Uniform Commercial Code: A Proposal For Reform, Darlene M. Nowak

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

This article examines in Part I how insecurity clauses function under the common law and the U.C.C .. Part II discusses the areas of controversy under section 1-208, the definition of good faith, the need for notice to the debtor, and the debtor's burden of proof. The article will evaluate the need for substantive reform in each area of controversy. A two-tier test of the creditor's insecurity is proposed wherein although the creditor has no responsibility to check the truth of his information, he may accelerate only if the information is true and is such as to make a reasonable …

Computer Programs As Goods Under The U.C.C., Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

This Note addresses the requirements for governing computer program contracts by article 2 of the U.C.C.: that the several methods of selling programs be "transactions in goods" and that the goods not be merely incidental to accompanying services. This Note concludes that contracts for program copies are, in most contexts, transactions within the scope of article 2.

Efts: Consumer Protection Under The Ucc, Susan E. Jinnett

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

In view of the economic significance of the payments system, the laws governing it must be equitable and comprehensive. The development of the commercial law applicable to EFTS's, however, currently lags behind the growth of these systems. Threats to the integrity of EFTS's stem from lost, stolen, or forged access cards, illegal taps into communication lines, physical impairment of the equipment, or improper programming. The legal rights and liabilities of consumers where the integrity of an EFTS has been breached remains unclear, in part because the status of EFTS's under current law is uncertain. The rights of the parties involved …

A Guide To Federal Warranty Legislation-The Magnuson-Moss Act, Richard H. Matthews

University of Richmond Law Review

One of the primary causes of concern in the recent movement toward greater consumer protection has been in the area of product warranties. Limited express warranties, liability disclaimers and ambiguous remedy

procedures often have been used by manufacturers and merchants to strip the consumer of all but a bare minimum of protection against defective products. Finding state laws incapable of adequately solving this problem, Congress preempted the field by enacting the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act.' This Act makes major changes in the law of warranties and places much heavier legal burdens upon manufacturers and other warrantors. This comment will attempt to …

White & Summers: Handbook Of The Law Under The Uniform Commercial Code, Ellen A. Peters

Michigan Law Review

A Review of Handbook of the Law Under the Uniform Commercial Code by James J. White and Robert S. Summers

Some Suggestions For Nonurgent Reforms In The Ucc's Treatment Of Accommodation Parties, James A. Martin

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

Anyone who has studied those provisions of the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC or Code) that deal with accommodation parties-chiefly Sections 3-415, 3-416, and 3-606-knows a certain amount of despair at trying to decipher the meaning of these provisions. Fortunately, most of the problems raised are fairly narrow, and few of them have yet posed significant problems for the courts, either because they have not yet arisen or (more often) because the courts have cut through ambiguous language to reach desirable and justifiable results. Thus, most of the problems discussed below do not cry out for immediate legislative attention. The position …

Uniform Commercial Code--Sales--Sections 2-508 And 2-608--Limitations On The Perfect-Tender Rule, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

Section 2-601 of the UCC gives a buyer of goods a right to reject for any nonconformity to the contract specifications. While this section essentially codifies the "perfect tender" rule of pre-Code sales law, it expressly limits that rule by referring to section 2-612, which pertains to installment contracts, and sections 2-718 and 2-719, which allow contractual limitations on remedies. Moreover, other provisions in the Code have the effect of restricting the perfect-tender concept. This Note will examine how the courts have applied two such sections-2-508 and 2-608-to protect the interests of buyers and sellers after tender.

Choice Of Law In Secured Personal Property Transactions: The Impact Of Article 9 Of The Uniform Commercial Code, Russell J. Weintraub

Michigan Law Review

It is likely that, in view of the adoption in forty-nine states of the Uniform Commercial Code (Code), particularly of article 9 dealing with secured transactions, the incidence of interstate conflict-of- laws problems concerning commercial transactions in personal property will be greatly reduced. The reason for this anticipated reduction is that the Code creates uniformity in the applicable law governing the rights and duties both between the secured creditor and the debtor and between the secured creditor and third parties who challenge the secured creditor's right to enjoy his security interest.

Contracts--Consideration--Inadequacy Of Consideration As A Factor In Determining Unconscionability Under Section 2-302 Of The Uniform Commercial Code, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

Section 2-302 of the Uniform Commercial Code (Code) provides that a court may refuse to enforce all or part of a contract if it finds that the contract, or any part of it, was unconscionable when made. In American Home Improvement, Inc. v. MacIver the Supreme Court of New Hampshire apparently held that a price substantially in excess of the value of the goods and services sold was sufficient in itself to constitute unconscionability under this provision of the Code. The high price was at least in part attributable to high time-credit charges, and, as noted by the court, the …

Preferential Transfers On The Eve Of The Bankruptcy Amendments, Richard M. Kohn

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

While secured lenders may have been content to ride the crest of judicial legislation, the only permanent solution to the problem lie in amending either the Bankruptcy Act, the Uniform Commercial Code, or both. This at least is the view taken by the National Bankruptcy Conference's Committee on Coordination of the Uniform Commercial Code and Bankruptcy Act. Since its first meeting in June 1966, the Committee has focused its attention primarily upon the validity, in bankruptcy proceedings, of Article 9 security interests in after-acquired property. In September 1967, the Committee submitted to the Bankruptcy Conference its first draft of a …

Conflicting Perfected Security Interests In Proceeds Under Article 9 Of The Uniform Commercial Code, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

Section 9-306 gives the inventory financer a "continuously perfected" security interest in the proceeds of the inventory if the security interest in the original collateral was perfected. "Proceeds" is defined as including "whatever is received when collateral or proceeds is sold, exchanged, collected or otherwise disposed of." Thus, the inventory financer may have a security interest in the proceeds of the original collateral or the proceeds of the proceeds. The security interest in the proceeds may be perfected in either of two ways: (1) under section 9-306(3)(a) the security interest is perfected by filing a financing statement that expressly covers …

Document Of Title: A Comparison Of The Uniform Commercial Code And Other Uniform Acts, With Emphasis On Michigan Law, Douglass Boshkoff

Michigan Law Review

Although this article is mainly oriented toward the legal materials of one jurisdiction, the presence of a fairly common background of uniform acts makes it relevant to other jurisdictions, except where there are contrary interpretations of a particular statutory provision. Therefore, parallel citations to the various uniform acts have been provided with the hope that this article will be of assistance to other groups attempting to evaluate article seven of the Uniform Commercial Code.

A New Deal For Fiduciaries' Stock Transfers, Alfred F. Conard

Michigan Law Review

For nearly one hundred years, executors and administrators have been struggling with the excessive documentation which corporations demand as a condition of recording stock transfers. For almost as long, legislatures have been passing laws in the hope-generally vain-of alleviating the burden.

In 1957, at least three states (and possibly four) opened a door through which estate representatives can emerge from their long bondage. For the first time, identical acts were passed in different states, and interstate recognition of simplification measures began. For the first time acts were passed which get to the root of the transfer agent's problem.

Impact Of The Commercial Code On Liability Of Parties To Negotiable Instruments In Michigan, Roy L. Steinheimer Jr.

Michigan Law Review

Since the Uniform Commercial Code is now effective in Pennsylvania and is under active consideration by official bodies in other states, it seems appropriate to investigate in some detail the impacts which this proposed legislation would have upon the accumulated business, legislative and judicial understanding and experience in the commercial law area in a specific jurisdiction. As an illustration of the problems which will be faced by judges, lawyers and businessmen in any jurisdiction which adopts the code, the writer has chosen to analyze some impacts which the code would have on commercial law in Michigan. Space limitations make it …

The Proposed New Uniform Sales Act, John Barker Waite

Michigan Law Review

A complete Uniform Commercial Code has been formulated by committees acting under joint auspices of the American Law Institute and the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws. While the Code is apparently not yet ready for presentation to state legislatures for enactment, it has been offered to the public for discussion of its merits. Its scope is comprehensive. As now tentatively proposed, it comprises presumably complete statutes covering Sales, Commercial Paper, Letters of Credit, Foreign Banking, Documents of Title, Secured Transactions, Investment Securities. If adopted it would displace the present Uniform Sales Act, the Uniform Negotiable Instruments Act, …