Section 3-101 – Short Title
This title may be cited as Maryland Uniform Commercial Code — Negotiable Instruments.
Section 3-102 – Subject Matter
(a) This title applies to negotiable instruments. It does not apply to money, to payment orders governed by Title 4A, or to securities governed by Title 8. (b) If there is conflict between this title and Title 4 or 9, Titles 4 and 9 govern. (c) Regulations of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and […]
Section 3-103 – Definitions
(a) In this title: (1) “Acceptor” means a drawee who has accepted a draft. (2) “Drawee” means a person ordered in a draft to make payment. (3) “Drawer” means a person who signs or is identified in a draft as a person ordering payment. (4) Reserved. (5) “Maker” means a person who signs or is identified in a note as a […]
Section 3-104 – Negotiable Instrument
(a) Except as provided in subsections (c) and (d), “negotiable instrument” means an unconditional promise or order to pay a fixed amount of money, with or without interest or other charges described in the promise or order, if it: (1) Is payable to bearer or to order at the time it is issued or first comes into […]
Section 3-105 – Issue of Instrument
(a) “Issue” means the first delivery of an instrument by the maker or drawer, whether to a holder or nonholder, for the purpose of giving rights on the instrument to any person. (b) An unissued instrument, or an unissued incomplete instrument that is completed, is binding on the maker or drawer, but nonissuance is a defense. An […]
Section 3-106 – Unconditional Promise or Order
(a) Except as provided in this section, for the purposes of § 3-104(a), a promise or order is unconditional unless it states (i) an express condition to payment, (ii) that the promise or order is subject to or governed by another writing, or (iii) that rights or obligations with respect to the promise or order are […]
Section 3-107 – Instrument Payable in Foreign Money
Unless the instrument otherwise provides, an instrument that states the amount payable in foreign money may be paid in the foreign money or in an equivalent amount in dollars calculated by using the current bank-offered spot rate at the place of payment for the purchase of dollars on the day on which the instrument is […]
Section 3-108 – Payable on Demand or at Definite Time
(a) A promise or order is “payable on demand” if it (i) states that it is payable on demand or at sight, or otherwise indicates that it is payable at the will of the holder, or (ii) does not state any time of payment. (b) A promise or order is “payable at a definite time” if it […]
Section 3-109 – Payable to Bearer or to Order
(a) A promise or order is payable to bearer if it: (1) States that it is payable to bearer or to the order of bearer or otherwise indicates that the person in possession of the promise or order is entitled to payment; (2) Does not state a payee; or (3) States that it is payable to or to the […]
Section 3-110 – Identification of Person to Whom Instrument Is Payable
(a) The person to whom an instrument is initially payable is determined by the intent of the person, whether or not authorized, signing as, or in the name or behalf of, the issuer of the instrument. The instrument is payable to the person intended by the signer even if that person is identified in the instrument […]
Section 3-111 – Place of Payment
Except as otherwise provided for items in Title 4, an instrument is payable at the place of payment stated in the instrument. If no place of payment is stated, an instrument is payable at the address of the drawee or maker stated in the instrument. If no address is stated, the place of payment is […]
Section 3-112 – Interest
(a) Unless otherwise provided in the instrument, (i) an instrument is not payable with interest, and (ii) interest on an interest-bearing instrument is payable from the date of the instrument. (b) Interest may be stated in an instrument as a fixed or variable amount of money or it may be expressed as a fixed or variable rate […]
Section 3-113 – Date of Instrument
(a) An instrument may be antedated or postdated. The date stated determines the time of payment if the instrument is payable at a fixed period after date. Except as provided in § 4-401(c), an instrument payable on demand is not payable before the date of the instrument. (b) If an instrument is undated, its date is the […]
Section 3-114 – Contradictory Terms of Instrument
If an instrument contains contradictory terms, typewritten terms prevail over printed terms, handwritten terms prevail over both, and words prevail over numbers.
Section 3-115 – Incomplete Instrument
(a) “Incomplete instrument” means a signed writing, whether or not issued by the signer, the contents of which show at the time of signing that it is incomplete but that the signer intended it to be completed by the addition of words or numbers. (b) Subject to subsection (c), if an incomplete instrument is an instrument under […]
Section 3-116 – Joint and Several Liability; Contribution
(a) Except as otherwise provided in the instrument, two or more persons who have the same liability on an instrument as makers, drawers, acceptors, indorsers who indorse as joint payees, or anomalous indorsers are jointly and severally liable in the capacity in which they sign. (b) Except as provided in § 3-419(e) or by agreement of the […]
Section 3-117 – Other Agreements Affecting Instrument
Subject to applicable law regarding exclusion of proof of contemporaneous or previous agreements, the obligation of a party to an instrument to pay the instrument may be modified, supplemented, or nullified by a separate agreement of the obligor and a person entitled to enforce the instrument, if the instrument is issued or the obligation is […]
Section 3-118 – Statute of Limitations
(a) Except as provided in subsection (e), an action to enforce the obligation of a party to pay a note payable at a definite time must be commenced within 6 years after the due date or dates stated in the note or, if a due date is accelerated, within 6 years after the accelerated due date. […]
Section 3-119 – Nature of Right to Defend Action
In an action for breach of an obligation for which a third person is answerable over pursuant to this title or Title 4, the defendant may give the third person written notice of the litigation, and the person notified may then give similar notice to any other person who is answerable over. If the notice […]