Cite as: 503 U. S. 393 (1992)
Opinion of the Court
the drawee bank refuse to honor a check, a cause of action against the drawer of the check accrues to the recipient of a check "upon demand following dishonor of the instrument." § 3-122(3), 2 U. L. A. 407 (1991); see also § 3-413(2), 2A U. L. A. 208 (1991). And the recipient of a dishonored check, received in payment on an underlying obligation, may maintain an action on either the check or the obligation. § 3- 802(1)(b), 2A U. L. A. 514 (1991).
With this background we turn to the issue at hand. Petitioner argues that the Court of Appeals erred in ignoring the interest that passed from the debtor to the petitioner when the check was delivered on a date outside the 90-day preference period. We disagree. We begin by noting that there can be no assertion that an unconditional transfer of the debtor's interest in property had occurred before November 20. This is because, as just noted above, receipt of a check gives the recipient no right in the funds held by the bank on the drawer's account. Myriad events can intervene between delivery and presentment of the check that would result in the check being dishonored. The drawer could choose to close the account. A third party could obtain a lien against the account by garnishment or other proceedings. The bank might mistakenly refuse to honor the check.7
The import of the preceding discussion for the instant case is that no transfer of any part of the debtor's claim against the bank occurred until the bank honored the check on November 20. The drawee bank honored the check by paying it. U. C. C. § 1-201(21), 1 U. L. A. 65 (1989) (defining honor); § 4-215(a), 2B U. L. A. 45 (1991). At that time, the bank had a right to "charge" the debtor's account, § 4-401, 2B U. L. A. 307 (1991)—i. e., the debtor's claim against the bank was reduced by the amount of the check—and petitioner no longer
7 Admittedly, such behavior might create a cause of action for the debtor-drawer, see U. C. C. § 4-402, 2B U. L. A. 59 (1991), but the recipient would not have any claim against the bank.
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