Accomodation Parties: Liability of The Principal
Accomodation Parties: Liability of The Principal
Accomodation Parties
An accommodation party is one who signs an instrument for the purpose of lending his or her
name as credit to another party on the instrument. This is aimed at securing the negotiable
instrument against nonpayment.
The accommodation maker is primarily liable on the instrument. The creditor can seek
payment directly from the accommodation party.
To hold the principal liable on the instrument, the agent must be authorized to sign the
document on the principal’s behalf.
The agent’s signature binds a principal ON an instrument if the agent clearly names the
principal in the signature, and that the signature is made on behalf of a specific principal. The
agent is not liable on the instrument. For example:
If the Agent (Havanna) signs just his own name, he will be personally liable to an HDC who has
no notice of the agency status. To escape liability, the agent must prove that the original
Negotiable Instruments
parties did not intend the agent to be liable on the instrument. If the party entitled to enforce
the document can prove the agency relationship, the principal is bound.
An authorized agent may be held personally liable on a negotiable instrument in the following
situations:
1. If the agent signed his own name without any indication that he was signing
as an agent.
2. If the agent signed in both the agent’s name and the principal’s name but
nothing on the instruments indicates the agency relationship:
o Lucía Martínez, Laura Havanna.
o Martínez, Havanna.
If an agent signs his or her name on a check that is payable from the account of the principal,
and the principal is identified on the check, the agent will not be personally liable on the check.
If Havanna is authorized to draw checks on Martínez’s behalf, using preprinted checks,
Havanna won’t be held personally liable on the check.