Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A rule in secured transactions law under which a security interest in goods continues when those goods are physically united with other goods without losing their separate identity. The rule preserves the interest in the original collateral after it becomes an accession and maintains perfection if the interest was perfected at the time of accession. Priority between competing interests in the accession is then determined under the general rules of Part 3 of Article 9.
Sources & Authorities
How it applies
Common Examples
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MRI Coil Remains Distinct Collateral
Black Medical granted Pacific Patient a security interest in its MRI machine and later purchased a coil from Lake Clinical under a separate agreement that granted Lake Clinical a security interest in the coil alone. Technicians bolted the coil into the machine using existing brackets without destroying the coil's identity. After default Lake Clinical's interest continued in the coil as an accession and took priority over Pacific Patient's claim to the machine as a whole.
Robotic Arm Interest Stays Perfected
Southern Precision bought a robotic arm from Blue Works under a purchase-money security agreement and Blue Works filed a financing statement covering only the arm. Southern Precision later welded the arm into its assembly line. Because Blue Works had perfected its interest before the arm became an accession the interest remained perfected in the arm after integration.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Uniform Acts
Restatements
Study Supplements
Sound System Components Keep Separate Status
Crown Alliance purchased a modular sound system from Lake Community under a security agreement and Lake Community filed a financing statement covering the system. Crown Alliance mounted parts of the system onto its outreach van and integrated other parts into auditorium fixtures. Lake Community's perfected interest continued in the components after they became accessions to the van and fixtures.
Turbine Blades Retain Separate Interest
Noon Solar purchased specialized turbine blades from Omega Electric on credit and granted Omega a security interest that Omega perfected by filing. Noon later bolted the blades onto hubs already encumbered by Brook Renewable's earlier financing statement. Omega's interest continued in the blades as accessions even after they were integrated into the turbines.
Common questions
Frequently Asked
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What must be shown for goods to qualify as an accession under the principle?+
Goods qualify as an accession when they are physically united with other goods in such a manner that the identity of the original goods is not lost. Courts examine factors such as the method of attachment, ease of removal, and whether the item retains independent function or value apart from the larger good.
Supporting sources
Does a security interest in an accession remain perfected after integration?+
Yes. If a security interest is perfected when the collateral becomes an accession the interest remains perfected in the collateral. The timing of perfection relative to the moment of accession therefore controls continuation of perfection.
Supporting sources
How is priority determined between a security interest in an accession and an interest in the whole?+
Priority is governed by the general priority rules of Part 3 of Article 9 unless a certificate-of-title statute applies. When a certificate-of-title statute governs the whole a security interest in the accession is subordinate to a security interest in the whole perfected under that statute.
Supporting sources
Does the principle of accession apply only to goods or also to real property improvements?+
The principle applies to goods that become accessions to other goods. Improvements to real property are instead governed by the law of fixtures and after-acquired property provisions rather than the accession rules of Article 9.
Supporting sources
569 N.E.2d 426 (N.Y. 1991)Property
…It was donated to the museum in 1937 by Solomon R. Guggenheim. The museum keeps track of its collection through the use of “accession cards,” which indicate when individual pieces leave the museum on loan, when they are returned and when they are transferred between the museum and storage. The museum lent the painting to…