Tennessee Code Annotated
Tenn. Code Ann. § 47-3-420 (2026)
Conversion of instrument
✓ current as of May 2026
- (a) The law applicable to conversion of personal property applies to instruments. An instrument is also converted if it is taken by transfer, other than a negotiation, from a person not entitled to enforce the instrument or a bank makes or obtains payment with respect to the instrument for a person not entitled to enforce the instrument or receive payment. An action for conversion of an instrument may not be brought by (i) the issuer or acceptor of the instrument or (ii) a payee or endorsee who did not receive delivery of the instrument either directly or through delivery to an agent or a copayee.
- (b) In an action under subsection (a), the measure of liability is presumed to be the amount payable on the instrument, but recovery may not exceed the amount of the plaintiff's interest in the instrument.
- (c) A representative, including a depositary bank, who has in good faith dealt with an instrument or its proceeds on behalf of one who was not the person entitled to enforce the instrument is not liable in conversion to that person beyond the amount of any proceeds that it has not paid out.
Acts 1995, ch. 397, § 2.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 7
cases (1 in the last 5 years), 2007–2021 · leading case: C-Wood Lumber Co. v. Wayne Cnty. Bank, 233 S.W.3d 263 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2007).
C-Wood Lumber Co. v. Wayne Cnty. Bank, 233 S.W.3d 263 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2007). “At this stage of the proceeding, Wayne County Bank asserted that it viewed C-Wood’s complaint as a claim for conversion of a negotiable instrument under Tenn. Code Ann. § 47-3-420 (2001). 5 It conceded that it was required to make inquiries about Ms.”
Notredan, LLC v. Old Repub. Exch. Facilitator Co., 875 F. Supp. 2d 780 (W.D. Tenn. 2012). “With respect to a claim for conversion under the Tennessee UCC, Tenn.Code Ann. § 47-3-420(a) provides as follows: “The law applicable to conversion *791 of personal property applies to instruments.”
Borg v. Chase Manhattan Bank USA, N.A., 247 F. App'x 627 (6th Cir. 2007). “Plaintiffs argue that the district court erred in concluding that no genuine issues of material fact exist, that plaintiffs’ claims under the Truth in Lending Act (“TILA” or “the Act”) are barred by the statute of limitations, that Tenn. Code Ann. § 47-3-420 precludes…”
Contour Indus., Inc. v. U.S. Bank, N.A., 437 F. App'x 408 (6th Cir. 2011). “The court also ordered Contour to show cause regarding its common-law claim for punitive damages, noting that Contour “ha[dj not pled the UCC conversion provision, Tenn.Code Ann. § 47-3-420.” On November 20, 2008, the court denied Contour’s common-law claim for conversion and…”
Clara Jean West, by & through Janet L. Harvey, Conservator & Est. of Robert Stokes West, by & through Janet L. Harvey, Adm'r v. Regions Bank (Tenn. Ct. App. 2011). “This Court has recognized that Section 47-3-307 “invites payees of checks embezzled by the payee’s fiduciary to sue the depository bank for conversion under Tenn. Code Ann. § 47-3-420 .” C-Wood Lumber Co.”
Rebecca M. Pomeroy v. Michael L. McGinnis (Tenn. Ct. App. 2021). “See also Tenn. Code Ann. § 47-3-420 (a) (2001) (“The law applicable to conversion of personal property applies to instruments.”
John R. Fuller v. Cmty. Nat'l Bank (2020). “Regarding plaintiff’s conversion claim, Tenn. Code Ann. § 47-3-420 states: (a) The law applicable to conversion of personal property applies to instruments.”
— Tenn. Code Ann. § 47-3-420(a) — 1 case
Notredan, LLC v. Old Repub. Exch. Facilitator Co., 875 F. Supp. 2d 780 (W.D. Tenn. 2012). “With respect to a claim for conversion under the Tennessee UCC, Tenn.Code Ann. § 47-3-420(a) provides as follows: “The law applicable to conversion *791 of personal property applies to instruments.”
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.