Tex. Bus. & Com. Code § 3.309 · Subchapter C. ENFORCEMENT OF INSTRUMENTS
ENFORCEMENT OF LOST, DESTROYED, OR STOLEN INSTRUMENT.
Text — Current through the 89th 2nd Called Legislative Session, 2025
(a) A person who is not in possession of an instrument is entitled to enforce the instrument if:
(1) the person seeking to enforce the instrument:
(A) was entitled to enforce the instrument when loss of possession occurred; or
(B) has directly or indirectly acquired ownership of the instrument from a person who was entitled to enforce the instrument when loss of possession occurred;
(2) the loss of possession was not the result of a transfer by the person or a lawful seizure; and
(3) the person cannot reasonably obtain possession of the instrument because the instrument was destroyed, its whereabouts cannot be determined, or it is in the wrongful possession of an unknown person or a person that cannot be found or is not amenable to service of process.
(b) A person seeking enforcement of an instrument under Subsection (a) must prove the terms of the instrument and the person's right to enforce the instrument. If that proof is made, Section 3.308 applies to the case as if the person seeking enforcement had produced the instrument. The court may not enter judgment in favor of the person seeking enforcement unless it finds that the person required to pay the instrument is adequately protected against loss that might occur by reason of a claim by another person to enforce the instrument. Adequate protection may be provided by any reasonable means.
Notes and commentary — not statutory text
History
Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 921, Sec. 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1996.
Amended by:
Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch. 95 (S.B. 1563), Sec. 6, eff. September 1, 2005.
Source of truth
- Edition
- Current through the 89th 2nd Called Legislative Session, 2025
- Official file
- https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/BC/htm/BC.3.htm
- Text hash
- sha256 1128be9febdec0b24fc46e69ac7b1470b5035beb3d399db0bc39a424effec06c
- Composed by
- compose_tx.py 2026-10-05: the Legislative Council's chapter files read in document order; verify_tx.py's independent reading (lxml DOM walk) agrees character for character
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