Cite as: 503 U. S. 393 (1992)
Stevens, J., dissenting
For the foregoing reasons, the judgment of the Court of Appeals is
Affirmed.
Justice Stevens, with whom Justice Blackmun joins, dissenting.
In my opinion, a "transfer" of property occurs on the date the check is delivered to the transferee, provided that the check is honored within 10 days. This conclusion is consistent with the traditional commercial practice of treating the date of delivery as the date of payment when a payment is made by a check that is subsequently honored by the drawee bank.1 It is also consistent with the treatment of checks in tax law. A taxpayer may deduct expenses paid by a check delivered on or before December 31 against that year's income even though the drawee bank does not honor the check until the next calendar year.2 Insofar as possible, it is wise to interpret statutes regulating commercial behavior consistently with established practices in the business community. The custom that treats the delivery of a check as payment
at 162. Thus, the relevance of the legislative history, even for purposes of interpreting § 547(c), appears to have been somewhat undermined; given this, it would clearly be inappropriate to extrapolate from that history for purposes of interpreting the scope of §§ 547(b) and 101(54).
1 See, e. g., Regents of University of New Mexico v. Lacey, 107 N. M. 742, 744, 764 P. 2d 873, 875 (1988) ("[I]f, when the check is delivered, the drawer has funds in the drawee bank to meet it, and the check is honored and paid upon presentment, the conditional nature of the payment becomes absolute and the date of payment will be deemed to have been made as of the date of the original delivery of the check"); 6 R. Anderson, Uniform Commercial Code § 3-802:19, pp. 594-595 (3d ed. 1984) ("When a check is paid, the payment of the underlying debt becomes absolute and it is deemed paid as of the date of the giving of the check").
2 See, e. g., Clark v. Commissioner, 253 F. 2d 745, 748 (CA3 1958); see also Don E. Williams Co. v. Commissioner, 429 U. S. 569, 572, n. 2, 582- 583 (1977). Treasury regulations similarly provide that a charitable contribution is made upon delivery of a check which subsequently clears in due course. Treas. Reg. § 1.170A-1(b), 26 CFR § 1.170A-1(b) (1991).
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