Background:  Last week, you met with the PI owners to discuss negotiable instruments and provided several examples to clarify the concept.  However, the owners are still a bit confused about negotiable instruments.  It is important for the owners to fully understand the concepts, so you meet with them again to discuss negotiable instruments in more depth.

As a basis for your discussion, you prepared an analysis and explanation regarding a situation that occurred recently with a PI customer.

Instructions:

Analyze the following facts and questions.

Facts:   A PI customer, Mr. Jones, wrote a $200.00 check to PI in payment for a paint purchase.

In the  process of depositing Jones’s check, PI properly indorsed the check and included it in the daily deposit to PI’s bank, First State.  Customer Jones’s check for $200.00 was credited to PI’s bank account. The check then went into the clearing process and was presented for payment at Jones’s bank, Third State.

Unfortunately, Jones had insufficient funds in his bank account and the check was dishonored and stamped as “Not Paid” and “Insufficient Funds”. The check was then sent back to PI’s bank, First State.  First State deducted the $200.00 from PI’s bank account and sent the dishonored check back to PI.

1.       Analyze and explain to PI owners who has primary liability for payment of the $200.00 check and why.

2.       Analyze and explain to PI owners who has/had secondary liability and when that liability came into play? (Tip: There were two parties who become secondarily liable as the check moved through the system.)

3.       Analyze and explain to PI owners to whom PI should go to ultimately recover the $200.00 and why.