Also known as:cashed · cashing · legal tender · currency
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
Money consisting of currency, coins, negotiable checks, and balances in bank accounts. It serves as immediately available funds for payment or exchange in legal transactions.
Sources & Authorities· 28 primary sources
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Cases
Statutes
How it applies
Common Examples
6
Vehicle Search and Arrest
Charles Cunningham sat in the front seat of a car stopped by police. Officers discovered cocaine and stacks of cash in the vehicle. No occupant claimed ownership of the items. The presence of the cash alongside the drugs supplied probable cause for joint possession, allowing arrest of all occupants including Cunningham.
Curing Foreclosure Default
Cynthia Cortez received a foreclosure notice on her home. Two days before the sale she tendered the full amount due in cash to the lender. The payment cured the monetary default under the statute and halted the foreclosure proceedings.
Clifford Cox served as trustee of a family trust holding undeveloped land. He sold a parcel at a private sale and received payment entirely in cash. The transaction complied with the trustee's statutory power to acquire or sell property for cash.
Equity Jurisdiction Dispute
Cecilia Cabrera sued in federal court seeking an accounting of funds held by a corporate defendant. The complaint alleged that certain cash reserves had been improperly diverted. The court applied equitable principles to determine whether the cash constituted identifiable proceeds subject to restitution.
Guaranty Trust Co. v. York[326 U.S.] at 110
Labor Regulation Challenge
Carmen Choi owned a bakery and paid bakers in cash for overtime hours exceeding statutory limits. Employees challenged the arrangement under state law. The dispute centered on whether cash payments satisfied or evaded wage and hour requirements.
Lochner v. New York198 U.S. 45 (1905)
Regulatory Taking Claim
Charlotte Chung purchased coastal lots intending to build homes. A new statute barred construction and left the parcels without economic use. Chung argued that the regulation took the value of her investment, including cash outlays for the land purchase, without just compensation.
Lucas v. South Carolina Coastal Council505 U.S. 1003 (1992)
Common questions
Frequently Asked
3
Does tender of cash cure a monetary default under the Uniform Home Foreclosure Procedures Act?+
Yes. The statute expressly permits cure by tendering payment in cash after notice and no later than two days before a scheduled foreclosure sale.
May a trustee sell trust property for cash under the Uniform Trust Code?+
Yes. Section 816(2) authorizes a trustee to acquire or sell property for cash or on credit at public or private sale.
When contraband and cash are found in a vehicle with multiple occupants, what does the Supreme Court permit?+
Police may have probable cause to arrest any or all occupants for joint possession when no one admits ownership of the cash or contraband.
381 U.S. 479 (1965)Constitutional Law
…v. Walton , 368 U. S. 25, 26 (DOUGLAS, J., dissenting). [^maj-12]: The phrase "right to privacy" appears first to have gained currency from an article written by Messrs. Warren and (later Mr. Justice) Brandeis in 1890 which urged that States should give some form of tort relief to persons whose private affairs were…