Impact of the Commercial Code on Liability of Parties to Negotiable Instruments in Michigan

Since the Uniform Commercial Code is now effective in Pennsylvania and is under active consideration by official bodies in other states, it seems appropriate to investigate in some detail the impacts which this proposed legislation would have upon the accumulated business, legislative and judicial understanding and experience in the commercial law area in a specific jurisdiction. As an illustration of the problems which will be faced by judges, lawyers and businessmen in any jurisdiction which adopts the code, the writer has chosen to analyze some impacts which the code would have on commercial law in Michigan. Space limitations make it necessary to select some small part of the code for this analysis. To this end, the writer has chosen the subject of liability of parties to negotiable instruments. It is hoped that this section-by-section study of an important segment of the code against the backdrop of over one hundred years of commercial experience in Michigan will give some appreciation of the problems involved and the ends to be achieved by adoption of the code.