Tennessee Code Annotated

Tenn. Code Ann. § 47-3-404 (2026)

Impostors - Fictitious payees

✓ current as of May 2026

Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section JustiaTenn. Code CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

(a) If an impostor, by use of the mails or otherwise, induces the issuer of an instrument to issue the instrument to the impostor, or to a person acting in concert with the impostor, by impersonating the payee of the instrument or a person authorized to act for the payee, an endorsement of the instrument by any person in the name of the payee is effective as the endorsement of the payee in favor of a person who, in good faith, pays the instrument or takes it for value or for collection.

(b) If (i) a person whose intent determines to whom an instrument is payable (§ 47-3-110(a) or (b)) does not intend the person identified as payee to have any interest in the instrument, or (ii) the person identified as payee of an instrument is a fictitious person, the following rules apply until the instrument is negotiated by special endorsement:
- (1) Any person in possession of the instrument is its holder.
- (2) An endorsement by any person in the name of the payee stated in the instrument is effective as the endorsement of the payee in favor of a person who, in good faith, pays the instrument or takes it for value or for collection.

(c) Under subsection (a) or (b), an endorsement is made in the name of a payee if (i) it is made in a name substantially similar to that of the payee or (ii) the instrument, whether or not endorsed, is deposited in a depositary bank to an account in a name substantially similar to that of the payee.

Acts 1995, ch. 397, § 2.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 4 cases, 1983–2018 · leading case: Bank/First Citizens Bank v. Citizens & Assocs., 82 S.W.3d 259 (Tenn. 2002).

Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment

Bank/First Citizens Bank v. Citizens & Assocs., 82 S.W.3d 259 (Tenn. 2002). · cites it 2× “Prior to this trial, First Citizens Bank filed a motion for summary judgment, claiming that it was entitled to judgment as a matter of law under the imposter defense of section 47-3-404. The court later denied the motion, finding that because Ms.”

Deutscher v. Long (In Re S. Indus. Banking Corp.), 36 B.R. 1010 (Bankr. E.D. Tenn. 1984). · cites it 8× “Tenn.Code Ann. § 47-3-404 (1979). I The debtor filed its petition for reorganization under chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code on March 10, 1983.”

Deutscher v. Lick Fork, Ltd. (In Re S. Indus. Banking Corp.), 35 B.R. 643 (Bankr. E.D. Tenn. 1983). · cites it 2× “However, Tenn.Code Ann. § 47-3-404 (1979) enacts in part: “Unauthorized signatures.”

Mark IV Enter., Inc. v. Bank Of Am., N.A. (Tenn. Ct. App. 2018). · cites it 2× “, and more particularly Tenn. Code Ann. § 47-3-404 “Imposters; Fictitious Payees” and/or § 47-3-405 “Employer’s Responsibility for Fraudulent Endorsement by Employee.”

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.