Also known as: bank certification · banks certification · bank's certification · certified check · bank certification of check
Written by attorneys — see sources below.
A bank's acceptance of a check drawn on it. The acceptance creates an irrevocable promise by the bank to pay the instrument when presented and discharges the drawer from liability on the check.
Belinda Baxter fell behind on her mortgage payments. Two days before the scheduled foreclosure sale she obtained a certified check from her bank for the full cure amount and delivered it to the lender. The lender accepted the instrument and halted the sale because the bank's certification supplied the required form of payment under the statute.
Bernard Bass purchased a new car from Benson Motors. The sales contract stated that payment must be made by cash or certified check only on delivery. Bernard presented a personal check at closing. The dealer refused it and insisted on a certified check because the contract language required the bank's certification to complete the transaction.
In May 1955, Claus H. Henningsen purchased a new 1955 Plymouth Plaza Club Sedan from Bloomfield Motors, Inc., an authorized De Soto and Plymouth dealer for Chrysler Corporation. Mr. Henningsen intended the car as a Mother's Day gift for his wife, Helen Henningsen, and communicated that intention to the dealer. He alone signed a one-page printed purchase-order form. The reverse side contained, in fine six-point script type, a warranty clause limiting the manufacturer's obligation to replacement of defective parts within ninety days or four thousand miles and disclaiming all other warranties, express or implied. The front of the form contained two even smaller paragraphs directing attention to the back-side conditions. The form was a standardized document prepared by the manufacturer and used by all its dealers. No one called the fine-print provisions to Mr. Henningsen's attention, and he did not read them. The car was delivered on May 9, 1955, after the dealer performed the items listed in Chrysler's New Car Preparation Service Guide. On May 19, 1955, while Mrs. Henningsen was driving north on Route 36 in Highlands, New Jersey, at twenty to twenty-two miles per hour on a smooth, paved highway, she heard a loud noise from the front of the car. The steering wheel spun in her hands and the vehicle veered sharply into a highway sign and brick wall. The car had been driven only 468 miles, had required no servicing, and had exhibited no unusual behavior before the accident. An insurance appraiser with eleven years of experience examined the wrecked vehicle and concluded that something in the steering mechanism from the wheel down to the front wheels had broken or dropped off. Plaintiffs also presented expert testimony that the steering failure resulted from a latent manufacturing defect that could not have been discovered by reasonable inspection. The negligence counts against both defendants were dismissed at trial. The case was submitted to the jury solely on the implied-warranty claims. The jury returned verdicts for both plaintiffs against Chrysler Corporation and Bloomfield Motors, Inc. Defendants appealed and plaintiffs cross-appealed from the dismissal of the negligence claim. The Supreme Court of New Jersey certified the matter directly before consideration by the Appellate Division.
View caseThe bank's certification discharges the drawer from liability on the check regardless of when or by whom the acceptance was obtained. The bank becomes primarily liable to pay the instrument.
Yes. The statute expressly lists a certified check as an acceptable method of tendering payment to cure a monetary default when delivered after notice and not later than two days before the foreclosure sale.
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Yes. The drawee bank has no obligation to certify a check and its refusal does not constitute dishonor of the instrument.
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Certification occurs when the drawee bank accepts its own customer's check. A cashier's check or teller's check is issued directly by the bank as drawer and therefore carries the bank's primary obligation from the moment of issuance.
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…below these clauses and immediately above the signature line, and in 12 point block type, the following appears: “CASH OR CERTIFIED CHECK ONLY ON DELIVERY.” On the left side, just opposite and in the same style type as the two quoted clauses, but in eight point size, this statement is set out: “This agreement shall not…