Blasco provided a check to Money Services Center (“MSC”), which operated as

a payday loan center, in exchange for a short-term loan that totaled $587.50.

Blasco filed for bankruptcy before MSC cashed the check. The check, if it was

considered a negotiable instrument, would take priority over bankruptcy creditor

claims. The bankruptcy administrator claimed the check was not a negotiable

instrument due to ambiguity in the amount value written on the check. Blasco

had written out the words “five eighty-seven and 50/100 dollars” on the check

and “$587.50” in the box where the amount was to be placed. Recall that the

UCC requires a negotiable instrument to specify a fixed amount of money.

CASE QUESTIONS

1. Who should prevail in this case? Why?

2. Should words or numbers take priority in cases where there is

ambiguity? Explain.