Tennessee Code Annotated
Tenn. Code Ann. § 47-3-301 (2026)
Person entitled to enforce instrument
✓ current as of May 2026
"Person entitled to enforce" an instrument means
- (i) the holder of the instrument,
- (ii) a nonholder in possession of the instrument who has the rights of a holder, or
- (iii) a person not in possession of the instrument who is entitled to enforce the instrument pursuant to § 47-3-309 or § 47-3-418(d). A person may be a person entitled to enforce the instrument even though the person is not the owner of the instrument or is in wrongful possession of the instrument.
Acts 1995, ch. 397, § 2.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 18
cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1979–2026 · leading case: Mostoller v. Saxon Mortg. Servs., Inc. (In re Hunter), 466 B.R. 439 (Bankr. E.D. Tenn. 2012).
Mostoller v. Saxon Mortg. Servs., Inc. (In re Hunter), 466 B.R. 439 (Bankr. E.D. Tenn. 2012). “]” Tenn.Code Ann. § 47-3-301 (2001); see also Tenn.”
George Jones v. Select Portfolio Servicing, 672 F. App'x 526 (6th Cir. 2016). “at 790 (quoting Tenn. Code Ann. § 47-3-301 ). Moreover, “[u]nder Tennessee law, the deed of trust follows the note.”
J & B Investments, LLC v. Surti, 258 S.W.3d 127 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2007). “See Tenn.Code Ann. § 47-3-301. Accordingly, because the Note is not usurious, Plaintiff, as the lawful holder of the Note, is entitled to collect interest at the default rate stated in the Note.”
Lorrie Thompson v. Bank of Am., N.A., 773 F.3d 741 (6th Cir. 2014). “Tenn.Code Ann. § 47-3-301. When an instrument carries a blank endorsement, it becomes payable to the “bearer,” meaning whoever possesses the note.”
Foster Bus. Park, LLC v. J & B Investments, LLC, 269 S.W.3d 50 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2008). “at 136 (citing Tenn.Code Ann. § 47-3-301). As the lawful holder of the Note, J & B was entitled to collect interest at the default rate stated in the Note, which we determined was not usurious.”
In Re Williams, 408 B.R. 709 (Bankr. W.D. Tenn. 2009). “The Court finds that this enforcement right gives a debtor in bankruptcy an interest in a negotiable instrument which is sufficient to bring it within § 541’s definition of “property of the estate.”
Andrea Brichant v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., 616 F. App'x 786 (6th Cir. 2015). “See Tenn.Code Ann. § 47-3-301. Because the defendants have supported their motion *790 for summary judgment “by affidavit or other appropriate means, which are uncon-troverted, [the] trial court [wa]s fully justified .”
Sheila Whitmore v. Green Tree Servicing, 658 F. App'x 793 (6th Cir. 2016). “Tenn. Code § 47-3-301. A holder is the person “[i]n possession of a negotiable instrument that is payable either to bearer or to an identified person that is the person in possession.”
In re Frost, 1 B.R. 313 (Bankr. M.D. Tenn. 1979). “” Tenn.Code Ann. § 47-3-301. Payment discharges the liability of any party to a negotiable instrument only to the extent that payment is made to the lawful holder.”
Michael D. Pate & Jennifer M. Pate v. CMG Mortg., Inc., Mortg. Elec. Reg. Sys., Inc., et al. (E.D. Tenn. 2026). “CMG is the Holder of the Note and Therefore Entitled to Enforce It Finally, Plaintiffs contend that Defendants are not persons “entitled to enforce” the Note within the meaning of Tenn. Code Ann. § 47-3-301 and therefore allege that CMG “wrongfully collected and retained…”
State Resources Corp. v. Thomas E. Talley (Tenn. Ct. App. 2004). “T.C.A. § 47-3-301 indicates those persons entitled to enforce a negotiable instrument.”
Pepper/Holt Jt. Venture v. Roderick Grp., Inc. (In re Hodevco, Inc.), 165 B.R. 855 (Bankr. M.D. Tenn. 1994). “Tenn.Code Ann. § 47-3-301. The debtor thus retained the legal right to enforce payment of the note against HADC, its maker.”
— Tenn. Code Ann. § 47-3-301(i) — 1 case
State Resources Corp. v. Thomas E. Talley (Tenn. Ct. App. 2004). “T.C.A. § 47-3-301 indicates those persons entitled to enforce a negotiable instrument.”
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