Alteration.
1. “Alteration” means an unauthorized:
(a) Change in an instrument that purports to modify in any respect the obligation of a party; or
(b) Addition of words or numbers or other change to an incomplete instrument relating to the obligation of a party.
2. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 3, an alteration fraudulently made discharges a party whose obligation is affected by the alteration unless that party assents or is precluded from asserting the alteration. No other alteration discharges a party, and the instrument may be enforced according to its original terms.
3. A payor bank or drawee paying a fraudulently altered instrument or a person taking it for value, in good faith, and without notice of the alteration, may enforce rights with respect to the instrument:
(a) According to its original terms; or
(b) In the case of an incomplete instrument altered by unauthorized completion, according to its terms as completed.
Last modified: February 27, 2006