Actions on Commercial Paper: Holder’s Procedural Advantages Under Article Three

The discussion will also be concerned primarily with the usual action “on the instrument”: an action by the holder to enforce payment by a person who has signed it as maker, acceptor, certifier, drawer, indorser, or guarantor and has thus become “liable on” it. These instruments, of course, may be involved in other types of actions, such as: an action for conversion of the instrument (section 3-419); an action to recover damages for breach of the warranties of a collector or transferor (sections 3-417 and 4-207); an action to compel indorsement (section 3-201); an action to enjoin payment (section 5-114(2)(b)); or an action to obtain reformation, cancellation, or other redress. To the extent that the procedural provisions in section 3-307 may be relevant in such actions-for example, the provisions in subsection (I) governing validity of signatures-there appears to be no persuasive reason why they should not apply. In general, however, the language and purposes of section 3-307 contemplate actions by holders against signers to enforce the latter’s liability to pay the instrument.