Law.com Subscribers SAVE 30%

Call 855-808-4530 or email [email protected] to receive your discount on a new subscription.

Assignments: Paying Agent Not Liable to Assignee

By Barry A. Graynor

Section 9406(a) of the Uniform Commercial Code provides that once an account debtor receives notification that the account has been assigned, the account debtor may discharge its obligation by paying the assignee and may not discharge the obligation by paying the assignor. This statute is critical to receivables financing, including factoring. In a recent opinion by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, the court held that the account debtor's payment obligations do not extend to its agent. Nationwide Transport Finance v. Cass Information Systems, Inc., 523 F.3d 1051, 65 UCC Rep.2d 709, 2008 U.S. App. LEXIS 9176 (9th Cir. 2008).

Nationwide is a finance company that purchases freight invoices from carriers or truckers who assign their payments under those invoices directly to Nationwide, a typical factoring arrangement. The account debtors are shippers or manufacturers who utilize the carriers to transport their goods across the country. The shippers contract with Cass Information Systems to handle the processing and payment of their freight invoices. The shipper pays Cass the funds needed to pay the invoices, and Cass, in turn, forwards these funds to Nationwide. The business relationship between Nationwide and Cass worked well for more than 17 years until one day Cass erroneously misdirected a payment to a carrier. Although Nationwide eventually got paid, Cass asserted its rights under a hold harmless agreement. This induced Nationwide to terminate the agreement. As a result, Cass refused to pay any future invoices to Nationwide.

Read These Next
The Article 8 Opt In Image

The Article 8 opt-in election adds an additional layer of complexity to the already labyrinthine rules governing perfection of security interests under the UCC. A lender that is unaware of the nuances created by the opt in (may find its security interest vulnerable to being primed by another party that has taken steps to perfect in a superior manner under the circumstances.

Beach Boys Songs Written Decades Ago Triggered Current Quarrel With Lawyers Image

There's current litigation in the ongoing Beach Boys litigation saga. A lawsuit filed in 2019 against Nevada residents Mike Love and his wife Jacquelyne in the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada that alleges inaccurate payment by the Loves under the retainer agreement and seeks $84.5 million in damages.

Major Differences In UK, U.S. Copyright Laws Image

This article highlights how copyright law in the United Kingdom differs from U.S. copyright law, and points out differences that may be crucial to entertainment and media businesses familiar with U.S law that are interested in operating in the United Kingdom or under UK law. The article also briefly addresses contrasts in UK and U.S. trademark law.

Strategy vs. Tactics: Two Sides of a Difficult Coin Image

With each successive large-scale cyber attack, it is slowly becoming clear that ransomware attacks are targeting the critical infrastructure of the most powerful country on the planet. Understanding the strategy, and tactics of our opponents, as well as the strategy and the tactics we implement as a response are vital to victory.

When Is a Repair Structural or Nonstructural Under a Commercial Lease? Image

A common question that commercial landlords and tenants face is which of them is responsible for a repair to the subject premises. These disputes often center on whether the repair is "structural" or "nonstructural."