Английский язык для юристов. Предпринимательское право - Станислав Коростелев

Unit 12

Negotiation of Commercial Paper

Учет оборотных документов

Права по ценной бумаге передаются вручением данной ценной бумаги (если она является бумагой на предъявителя), в порядке цессии (если бумага именная), путем совершения индоссамента (в случае ордерной ценной бумаги) (глава 7 ГК РФ).

List of key terms and word combinations:

– accommodation party – лицо, выписавшее (индоссировавшее или акцептовавшее) дружеский вексель

– allonge – аллонж (листок, прилагаемый к векселю для дополнительных индоссаментов)

– assignment – передача, переуступка (имущества, права); уступка требования; цессия

– bearer paper – бумага на предъявителя

– blank endorsement – бланковый индоссамент (без указания лица, которому переуступается документ)

– conditional endorsement – индоссамент, содержащий определенное условие (по выполнении которого может производиться платеж)

– dishonor – отказывать в акцепте или оплате векселя

– endorsement in full – полный индоссамент (с указанием лица, которому производится платеж)

– negotiation – передача, переуступка; продажа, учет (векселя), выплата (по чеку, по векселю)

– order – требование

– qualified endorsement – передаточная надпись, содержащая специальное условие

– restrictive endorsement – ограниченный индоссамент

– special endorsement – именная передаточная надпись

Commercial paper that does not meet all of the requirements of negotiability cannot be negotiated. It can only be transferred by assignment, which is governed by the ordinary principles of contract law. People who receive instruments by assignment are not given the special protection provided those who receive instruments by negotiation.

An assignment is the transfer of a contract right from one person to another. Commercial paper is assigned either when a person whose endorsement is required on an instrument transfers it without indorsing it or when it is transferred to another person and does not meet the requirements of negotiability. In all such transfers, the transferee has only the rights of an assignee and is subject to all defenses existing against the assignor.

An assignment of commercial paper also occurs by operation of law when the holder of an instrument dies or becomes bankrupt. In such cases, title to the instrument vests in the personal representative of the estate or the trustee in bankruptcy.

Negotiation is the transfer of an instrument in such form that the transferee becomes a holder. A holder is a person who is in possession of an instrument issued or indorsed to that person, to that person's order, to bearer, or in blank.

If an instrument is payable to order, such as «pay to the order of,» it is known as order paper. To be negotiated, order paper must be indorsed by the payee and delivered to the party to whom it is transferred. If an instrument is payable to bearer or cash, it is called bearer paper and may be negotiated by delivery alone, without an endorsement. When order paper is indorsed with a blank endorsement (defined as follows), it is turned into bearer paper and may be further negotiated by delivery alone.

An instrument is indorsed when the holder signs it, thereby indicating the intent to transfer ownership to another. Endorsements may be written in ink, typewritten, or stamped with a rubber stamp. They may be written on a separate paper (rider, or allonge) as long as the separate paper is so firmly affixed to the instrument that it becomes part of it. For convenience purposes endorsements are usually placed on the back of the instrument.

Anyone who gives value for an instrument has the right to have the unqualified endorsement of the person who transferred it unless it is payable to bearer.

The back of a check is divided into specific sections designed to protect the endorsement of the depository bank (the bank of first deposit). The first one-and-one-half inches from the trailing edge of the check is reserved for the payee's endorsement. Subsequent banks that handle the check after the depository bank should limit their endorsements to the three-inch space beginning at the opposite end (leading edge) of the check. The section between the payee's endorsement section and the subsequent banks' endorsement section must be reserved for the depository bank's endorsement. In addition, purple ink can be used only by the depository bank.

There are four commonly used types of endorsements: blank endorsements, special endorsements, restrictive endorsements, and qualified endorsements.

A blank endorsement consists of the signature alone written on the instrument. No particular endorsee (person to whom an instrument is indorsed) is named. When an instrument is indorsed in blank, it becomes payable to bearer and may be transferred by delivery alone. If the instrument is lost or stolen and gets into the hands of another holder, the new holder can recover its face value by delivery alone. For this reason, a blank endorsement should be used only in limited situations, such as at a bank teller's window.

When an instrument is made payable to a person under a misspelled name or a name other than that person's own, the payee may indorse in the incorrect name, in the correct name, or in both. Signatures in both names may be required by a person paying or giving value for the instrument.

A special endorsement (also called an endorsement in full) is made by writing the words pay to the order of or pay to followed by the name of the person to whom it is to be transferred (the endorsee) and the signature of the endorser. When indorsed in this manner, the instrument remains an order instrument and must be indorsed by the endorsee before it can be further negotiated.

The holder of an instrument may convert a blank endorsement into a special endorsement by writing the same words (pay to the order of or pay to) over the endorser's signature.

A restrictive endorsement limits the rights of the endorsee in some manner in order to protect the rights of the endorser. An endorsement is restrictive if it is conditional, purports to prohibit further transfer of the instrument, includes the words for collection, for deposit, pay any bank, or like terms signifying a purpose of deposit or collection, or otherwise states that it is for the benefit or use of the endorser or of another person.

A conditional endorsement, a type of restrictive endorsement, makes the rights of the endorsee subject to the happening of a certain event or condition.

Endorsements for deposit or collection are designed to get an instrument into the banking system for the purpose of deposit or collection. When a check is indorsed «for deposit only» the amount of the instrument is credited to the endorser's account before it is negotiated further. Retail stores often stamp each check «for deposit only» when it is received. This wording provides protection in the event the check is stolen. Checks mailed to the bank for deposit should always be indorsed in this way.

A restrictive endorsement limits the subsequent use of the instrument. An endorsement that purports to prohibit further transfer, such as «pay John Doe only,» may be further negotiated after the directions in the endorsement are carried out. Thus, after John Doe is paid, any holder of the instrument may continue to negotiate it. A restrictive endorsement does not prevent further transfer or negotiation of the instrument.

A qualified endorsement is one in which words have been added to the signature that limit the liability of the endorser. By adding the words without recourse to the endorsement, the endorser is not liable in the event the instrument is dishonored, that is, not paid by the maker or drawer.

An accommodation party is one who signs an instrument in any capacity for the purpose of lending his or her name to another party to the instrument.

Thus, an accommodation party who signs on the front of a promissory note below the signature of the maker assumes the same liability as the maker. On the other hand, an accommodation party who signs on the back of the instrument assumes the same liability as an endorser. An accommodation party is not liable to the party accommodated. The party accommodated, however, is liable to the accommodation party if the latter pays the instrument.

If an instrument is payable to either of two payees, the endorsement of only one of the payees is necessary to negotiate it. On the other hand, if an instrument is payable to both of two payees, the endorsement of both payees is necessary for a proper negotiation.

A depository bank that has taken in an item for collection may supply any endorsement of the customer that is necessary to title. This rule is designed to speed up bank collections by eliminating the necessity to return to a depositor any items that were not indorsed. Such an endorsement may not be supplied by a bank, however, if the instrument contains the words payee's endorsement required.

Exercise 1. Comprehension questions:

1. In what case is an instrument indorsed?

2. When does an assignment of commercial paper occur?

3. What are the standards for check endorsements?

4. What are the cases when a blank endorsement should be used?

5. How can be a blank endorsement converted into a special one?

6. What does a restrictive endorsement suppose?

7. Explain what an accommodation party is.

8. When is the endorsement of both payees required and when not?

Exercise 2. Find in the text English equivalents to the following:

Лицо, выписавшее дружеский вексель; листок, прилагаемый к векселю для дополнительных индоссаментов; переуступка; бумага на предъявителя; бланковый индоссамент; индоссамент, содержащий определенное условие; отказывать в акцепте или оплате векселя; полный индоссамент; учет векселя; передаточная надпись, содержащая специальное условие; ограниченный индоссамент; именная передаточная надпись.

Exercise 3. Consult recommended dictionaries and give words or phrases to the following definitions:

Простой вексель; переводной вексель; оплата по предъявлении; подлежит оплате по приказу; коносамент; акцептированная банковская тратта; обеспеченный вексель; обыкновенный вексель; облигации на предъявителя; депозитный сертификат; банковский чек; банковский индоссамент; передаточная надпись; условие о сокращении срока исполнения обязательства; форма подписи; подпись торгового агента; безусловное обещание; определенная сумма; точно определенный срок.

Exercise 4. Be ready to talk on one of the following topics:

1. Differentiate between an assignment and a negotiation of commercial paper.

2. Name and describe four kinds of endorsements.

3. Identify the implied warranties that are made when people indorse negotiable instruments.

4. Explain the contract that is made when people indorse negotiable instruments.

5. Determine the endorsements required on instruments with more than one payee.

Exercise 5. Make up your own dialog on the case: In Riegler v. Riegler, husband and wife both signed as makers of a note and were subsequently divorced. When the payee secured judgment against both parties, the husband sued his ex-wife for contribution. The wife argued that she only signed as an accommodation party and was not liable. The trail court found for the husband, because the wife had received benefits from the proceeds of the note. On appeal, the Arkansas Supreme Court affirmed on the basis of the wife's testimony that the proceeds of the note were used to build a house in which she had a half interest.

Unit 13

Holders in Due Course, Defenses, and Liabilities

Добросовестное владение и обстоятельства, освобождающие от ответственности

Добросовестность владения определяется тем, что владелец не знает и не должен знать о незаконности своего владения, при этом, возможно, и осознавая, что собственником соответствующей вещи он не является. Поэтому установление добросовестности зависит от оснований завладения вещью (статья 10 ГК РФ).

List of key terms and word combinations:

– failure (want) of consideration – отпадение встречного удовлетворения, отпадение основания договора

– holder – держатель; владелец; предъявитель

– holder in due course – законный владелец, держатель

– lack of consideration – недостаточность возмещения

– personal (limited) defense – правовая защита против ограниченного круга держателей ценных бумаг

– presentment – предъявление векселя к акцепту или оплате

– primary liability – первичное обязательство

– protest – протест, опротестование (векселя) || опротестовывать (вексель)