Montana Code Annotated

Mont. Code Ann. § 30-3-309 (2026)

Enforcement Of Lost, Destroyed, Or Stolen Instrument

✓ current as of May 2026
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TITLE 30. TRADE AND COMMERCE

CHAPTER 3. UNIFORM COMMERCIAL CODE NEGOTIABLE INSTRUMENTS

Part 3. Rights of a Holder

Enforcement Of Lost, Destroyed, Or Stolen Instrument

30-3-309. Enforcement of lost, destroyed, or stolen instrument. (1) A person not in possession of an instrument is entitled to enforce the instrument if:

(a) that person was in rightful possession of the instrument and entitled to enforce it when loss of possession occurred;

(b) the loss of possession was not the result of a voluntary transfer by that person or a lawful seizure; and

(c) that person cannot reasonably obtain possession of the instrument because the instrument was destroyed, its whereabouts cannot be determined, or it is in the wrongful possession of an unknown person or a person that cannot be found or is not amenable to service of process.

(2) A person seeking enforcement of an instrument pursuant to subsection (1) shall prove the terms of the instrument and the person's right to enforce the instrument. If that proof is made, 30-3-307 applies to the case as though the person seeking enforcement had produced the instrument. The court may not enter judgment in favor of the person seeking enforcement unless it finds that the person required to pay the instrument is adequately protected against loss that might occur by reason of a claim by another person to enforce the instrument. Adequate protection may be provided by any reasonable means.

History: En. Sec. 122, Ch. 410, L. 1991.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 3 cases (3 in the last 5 years), 2022–2026 · leading case: Est. of B. Haler, 2026 MT 111.
Est. of B. Haler, 2026 MT 111. · cites it 8× “¶34 Similarly, § 30-3-309, MCA, does not assist Rebecca.”
Citimortgage, Inc. v. Garcia, 538 P.3d 89 (N.M. Ct. App. 2022). “106, § 3-309 (West 1998); Mont. Code Ann. § 30-3-309 (West 1991); N.”
CitiMortgage, Inc. v. Garcia (N.M. Ct. App. 2022). “106, § 3-309 (West 1998); Mont. Code Ann. § 30-3-309 (West 1991); N.”
Mont. Code Ann. § 30-3-309(1): 1 case
Est. of B. Haler, 2026 MT 111. “¶34 Similarly, § 30-3-309, MCA, does not assist Rebecca.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.