2019 Tennessee Code
Title 66 - Property
Chapter 29 - Abandoned or Unclaimed Property
Part 1 - Uniform Unclaimed Property Act
§ 66-29-160. Evidence of unpaid debt or undischarged obligation.
(a) A record of a putative holder showing an unpaid debt or undischarged obligation is prima facie evidence of the debt or obligation.
(b) A putative holder may establish by a preponderance of the evidence that there is no unpaid debt or undischarged obligation with respect to such debt or obligation or that the debt or obligation was not, or no longer is, a fixed and certain obligation of the putative holder.
(c) A putative holder may overcome prima facie evidence under subsection (a) by establishing by a preponderance of the evidence that a check, draft, or similar instrument was:
(1) Issued as an unaccepted offer in settlement of an unliquidated amount;
(2) Issued but later replaced with another instrument because the earlier instrument was lost or contained errors that were corrected;
(3) Issued to a party affiliated with the issuer;
(4) Paid, satisfied, or discharged;
(5) Issued in error;
(6) Issued without consideration;
(7) Voided within a reasonable time after issuance for a valid business reason set forth in a contemporaneous record; or
(8) Issued but not delivered to the third-party payee for a sufficient reason recorded within a reasonable time after issuance.
(d) In asserting a defense under this section, a putative holder may present evidence of a course of dealing or custom and practice between the putative holder and the apparent owner.
