Court Opinion

ID: 9672674
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-24 03:58:43.82739+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:16:17.755217
License: Public Domain

WILLIAM A. BABLITCH, J.
(dissenting). I dissent because I conclude that sec. 401.207, Stats., applies in this case. Section 401.102(2) delineates the underlying purposes and policies of the Uniform Commercial Code, including the policy of simplifying, clarifying and modernizing the law governing commercial transactions. Sec. 401.102(2) (a). Under sec. 401.102(1), chs. 401 to 409 must be liberally construed and applied to promote the underlying purposes and policies set forth in sec. 401.102(2).
I conclude that interpreting sec. 401.207, Stats., to allow a creditor to accept a conditional check under protest and reserve the right to obtain payment for any balance due is supported by the language of sec. 401.207. I also conclude that this interpretation promotes the policy of simplifying, clarifying and modernizing the law governing commercial transactions. As White and Summers note in Handbook of the Law Under the Uniform *121Commercial Code, sec. 18-21 at 544 (2d ed. 1980), “. . . offering a check for less than the contract amount, but ‘in full settlement’ inflicts an exquisite form of commercial torture on the payee.” Under the common law doctrine of accord and satisfaction, the payee may have to refuse the check, even if both parties agree that the amount tendered is due, in order to reserve the right to pursue a claim for any additional amount that the payor owes.1 This commercially unreasonable result can be avoided by interpreting sec. 401.207 to allow the payee to cash the check and still retain the right to sue for the balance owing if the payee has reserved his or her rights.
In this case, Honeywell reserved its rights under sec. 401.207, Stats., by the letter it sent to Flambeau disputing Flambeau’s assertion that Flambeau had satisfied all of its obligations under the purchase contracts. Because I conclude that sec. 401.207 applies in this case, and because Honeywell reserved its rights under that provision, I would hold that Honeywell reserved its right to demand full performance of Flambeau’s obligations under the purchase contracts.

 This case presents a perfect example of this dilemma. In order to avoid the result that would occur under the common law doctrine of accord and satisfaction, Honeywell would be forced to return Flambeau’s check for $95,412, an amount Flambeau concedes it owes Honeywell, in order to reserve the right to pursue its claim for $14,000 that it contends Flambeau still owes under the purchase contracts.