Colorado § 4-3-501 - Presentment.

§ 4-3-501. Presentment.

(a) "Presentment" means a demand made by or on behalf of a person entitled to enforce an instrument (i) to pay the instrument made to the drawee or a party obliged to pay the instrument or, in the case of a note or accepted draft payable at a bank, to the bank, or (ii) to accept a draft made to the drawee.

(b) The following rules are subject to article 4 of this title, agreement of the parties, and clearing-house rules and the like:

(1) Presentment may be made at the place of payment of the instrument and must be made at the place of payment if the instrument is payable at a bank in the United States; may be made by any commercially reasonable means, including an oral, written, or electronic communication; is effective when the demand for payment or acceptance is received by the person to whom presentment is made; and is effective if made to any one of two or more makers, acceptors, drawees, or other payors.

(2) Upon demand of the person to whom presentment is made, the person making presentment must (i) exhibit the instrument, (ii) give reasonable identification and, if presentment is made on behalf of another person, reasonable evidence of authority to do so, and (iii) sign a receipt on the instrument for any payment made or surrender the instrument if full payment is made.

(3) Without dishonoring the instrument, the party to whom presentment is made may (i) return the instrument for lack of a necessary indorsement, or (ii) refuse payment or acceptance for failure of the presentment to comply with the terms of the instrument, an agreement of the parties, or other applicable law or rule.

(4) The party to whom presentment is made may treat presentment as occurring on the next business day after the day of presentment if the party to whom presentment is made has established a cut-off hour not earlier than 2 p.m. for the receipt and processing of instruments presented for payment or acceptance and presentment is made after the cut-off hour.

Source: L. 94: Entire article R&RE, p. 873, § 1, effective January 1, 1995.

Editor's note: This section is similar to former §§ 4-3-501, 4-3-503, and 4-3-504 as they existed prior to 1994.

ANNOTATION

Law reviews. For comment on Colorado Nat'l Bank v. David appearing below, see 4 Rocky Mt. L. Rev. 289 (1932).

Annotator's note. The following annotations include cases decided under former provisions similar to this section.

Under this section a check need not be presented for acceptance unless it contains an express stipulation to that effect. Van Buskirk v. State Bank, 35 Colo. 142, 83 P. 778 (1905).

Likewise, a bondholder is not required to present a bond or interest coupons for payment at maturity in order to fix the absolute liability of the maker, and this fact is true even though such is made payable at a particular bank where the maker has deposited funds to meet the obligations and the bank fails subsequent to the maturity of the bonds. Employers Mut. Ins. Co. v. Bd. of County Comm'rs, 102 Colo. 177, 78 P.2d 380 (1938).

To charge an indorser, presentment for payment and notice to him of the dishonor must be alleged and shown. Sykes v. Kruse, 49 Colo. 560, 113 P. 1013 (1911).

Which can be urged on appeal. Substantial defects may be urged on appeal though not presented in the court below, e.g., failure, as against the indorser of negotiable paper to allege presentment for payment and notice of dishonor. Sykes v. Kruse, 49 Colo. 560, 113 P. 1013 (1911).

Such does not apply to suits between accommodation indorsers. In a suit in equity by one of several accommodation indorsers against the others for contribution, the defendants will not be heard to contend that they were entitled to notice of the dishonor and protest of the bill, as the provisions of this section have no application in such case. Owens v. Greenlee, 68 Colo. 114, 188 P. 721 (1920).

In an action on a note payable at a specified place, a demand need not be averred or proved; and, if the maker was ready and offered at the time and place to pay it, this is a matter of defense to be pleaded and proved by him. Florence Oil & Ref. Co. v. First Nat'l Bank, 38 Colo. 119, 88 P. 182 (1906).

Notice to one does not constitute notice to all. In an action on a promissory note, notice of nonpayment to one defendant does not constitute notice to the others, and the contention that he is the general agent of his codefendants for the purpose of receiving notice is without merit. Bieser v. Irwin, 101 Colo. 210, 72 P.2d 271 (1937).

Where stolen check bore a 1971 date and was not cashed until 1973, when the time for presentment had long since passed, the lack of timely presentment would not have destroyed its negotiability as the negotiability of an instrument is not affected by the fact that it is undated, antedated, or postdated. Thus, the stolen check indorsed by accused falls squarely within the terms of the forgery statute under which he was convicted. People v. Palmer, 189 Colo. 358, 540 P.2d 341 (1975).

Unless negotiable paper is sent by the holder for collection from the maker to the very bank designated as the place of payment, such bank is the agent of the maker and not of the holder in relation to any deposit by the maker when there is no evidence of an express authority. Employers Mut. Ins. Co. v. Bd. of County Comm'rs, 102 Colo. 177, 78 P.2d 380 (1938).

Where a promissory note payable at a certain bank is there presented on the day of its maturity, but payment is refused, and the holder then presents it at the maker's place of business, but payment is likewise refused, his leaving such at the bank immediately thereafter is a good presentment. Archuleta v. Johnston, 53 Colo. 393, 127 P. 134 (1912).

A bondholder is not required to present a bond or interest coupons for payment at maturity in order to fix the absolute liability of the maker, and this is true even though the paper is made payable at a particular bank where the maker has deposited sufficient funds to meet his obligation and the bank has failed subsequent to the maturity of the paper. Employers Mut. Ins. Co. v. Bd. of County Comm'rs, 102 Colo. 177, 78 P.2d 380 (1938).

To charge the indorser of a promissory note, executed by two or more persons not partners, no place of payment being specified, presentment for payment must be made to each of the makers. Prior v. Simonson, 62 Colo. 116, 160 P. 1035 (1916).

Where payee pledges a note without the maker's knowledge, and the individual who assumes the note pays all interest to the payee with the pledgee's acquiescence, the payment of the principal to the payee is a defense against the pledgee. Colo. Nat'l Bank v. David, 89 Colo. 238, 1 P.2d 578 (1931).

A note drawn to alternative, not joint, payees can be discharged only by a holder of the instrument. Reese v. Lietzan, 160 Colo. 253, 419 P.2d 959 (1966).

Applied in Genua v. Kilmer, 37 Colo. App. 365, 546 P.2d 1279 (1976).