The American Law Institute

Uniform Commercial Code 2007 Edition (2007 Official Text with Comments)

An indispensable feature is the Official Comments, prepared by NCCUSL and ALI, which appear under each section. These Comments explain the purpose and intent of the sections and the changes in the prior law that were effected by the Code.

The drafting and editorial work that led to the original 1952 edition of the Code was in charge of an Editorial Board of which United States Circuit Judge Herbert F. Goodrich of Philadelphia was Chairman. The other members at various times were: Karl Llewellyn, University of Chicago Law School; Walter D. Malcolm, Boston; John C. Pryor, Burlington, Iowa; Wm. A. Schnader, Philadelphia; and Harrison Tweed, New York City.

In the final stages of work on the Code, certain questions of policy were submitted for consideration to an enlarged Editorial Board consisting at various times of the foregoing members and Howard L. Barkdull, Cleveland; Joe C. Barrett, Jonesboro, Arkansas; Robert K. Bell, Ocean City, New Jersey; Robert P. Goldman, Cincinnati; Dean Albert J. Harno, University of Illinois Law School; Ben W. Heineman, Chicago; Carlos Israels, New York City; Albert E. Jenner, Chicago; Arthur Littleton, Philadelphia; Willard B. Luther, Boston; Kurt F. Pantzer, Indianapolis, Indiana; George Richter, Jr., Los Angeles; R. Jasper Smith, Springfield, Missouri; United States Circuit Court Judge Sterry Waterman, St. Johnsbury, Vermont; and Charles H. Willard, New York City.

The Chief Reporter was Karl N. Llewellyn and the Associate Chief Reporter was Soia Mentschikoff. Final editorial preparation of the 1952 edition was in the hands of Professor Charles Bunn of the University of Wisconsin Law School. The Coordinators for later revisions were Robert Braucher and A. E. Sutherland of the Law School of Harvard University, Professor, later Justice, Braucher doing the final editorial preparation for the 1962 edition. Others were responsible for coordinating subsequent editions.

The judges, practicing lawyers, and law teachers who originally acted either as advisers or as draftsmen were:

Judges: John T. Loughran, New York Court of Appeals; Thomas W. Swan, United States Circuit Judge for the Second Circuit; and the late John D. Wickhem, of the Supreme Court of Wisconsin.

Practicing Lawyers: Dana C. Backus, New York City; Howard L. Barkdull, Cleveland; Lawrence G. Bennett, New York City; Harold F. Birnbaum, Los Angeles; William L. Eagleton, Washington, D. C.; H. Vernon Eney, Baltimore; Fairfax Leary, Jr., Philadelphia; Willard B. Luther, Boston; Walter D. Malcolm, Boston; Frederick M. Miller, Des Moines, Iowa; Hiram Thomas, New York City; Sterry R. Waterman, St. Johnsbury, Vermont; and Cornelius W. Wickersham, New York City.

The law teachers were: Ralph J. Baker, Harvard Law School; William E. Britton, University of Illinois Law School; Charles Bunn, University of Wisconsin Law School; Arthur L. Corbin, Yale University Law School; Allison Dunham, Columbia University Law School; Grant Gilmore, Yale University Law School; Albert J. Harno, University of Illinois Law School; Friedrich Kessler, Yale University Law School; Maurice H. Merrill, University of Oklahoma Law School; William L. Prosser, University of California School of Law; Louis B. Schwartz, University of Pennsylvania Law School; and Bruce Townsend, University of Indiana Law School.

The 1972, 1977, 1987, 1989, and 1990 revisions of the Code were promulgated by the Permanent Editorial Board for the Uniform Commercial Code, established in 1961 by agreement of The American Law Institute and the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws, the organizations whose joint effort had produced the Code, and were approved by both bodies with amendments in which the Institute, the Commissioners, and the Board all concurred.

The 1972 revisions were originally drafted by the Board’s Article 9 Review Committee consisting of:

Reporter: Robert Braucher, Associate Justice, Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts; Associate Reporter: Homer Kripke, New York University School of Law, New York, New York; Associate Reporter Ex Officio: Soia Mentschikoff, University of Chicago Law School, Chicago, Illinois.

Committee: Herbert Wechsler, New York, New York, Chairman; Joe C. Barrett, Jonesboro, Arkansas; Carl W. Funk, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; John S. Hastings, Senior Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, Chicago, Illinois; Robert Haydock, Jr., Boston, Massachusetts; Ray David Henson, Wayne State University Law School, Detroit, Michigan; Harold Marsh, Jr., Los Angeles, California; William Curtis Pierce, New York, New York; Millard H. Ruud, University of Texas Law School, Austin, Texas; Sterry R. Waterman, Senior Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, St. Johnsbury, Vermont.

Consultants: Peter F. Coogan, Boston, Massachusetts; Grant Gilmore, University of Chicago Law School, Chicago, Illinois.

The 1977 revisions to Article 8 were initiated by the Committee on Stock Certificates of the Section of Corporation, Banking and Business Law of the American Bar Association, under the chairmanship of Donald A. Scott of Philadelphia. The original draft of the revisions was produced by that Committee in conjunction with the 348 Committee of the Permanent Editorial Board, designated by the Board to consider the implications for Articles 3, 4, and 8 of the Code of electronic data processing developments, with Robert Haydock, Jr., of Boston as Chairman. The Reporter for the revisions was Martin J. Aronstein of the University of Pennsylvania Law School.

Members of the ABA Committee on Stock Certificates were: Jean Allard, Chicago, Illinois; John A. Barrett, Houston, Texas; Robert A. Haydock, Jr., Boston, Massachusetts; Thomas H. Jolls, Williamsburg, Virginia; Hamilton F. Potter, Jr., New York, New York; Richard B. Smith, New York, New York; John M. Steadman, Washington, D. C.; Allen M. Terrel, Jr., Wilmington, Delaware.

Members of the 348 Committee of the Permanent Editorial Board at the time were: Boris Auerbach, Cincinnati, Ohio; John H. Higgs, New York, New York; Paul E. Homrighausen, San Francisco, California; McChesney H. Jeffries, Atlanta, Georgia; Norman Penney, Cornell Law School, Ithaca, New York; Hamilton F. Potter, Jr., New York, New York; Carlyle C. Ring, Jr., Washington, D. C.; Blair C. Shick, Cambridge, Massachusetts.

The 1987 revisions adding Article 2A were developed by a Drafting Committee of the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws under the chairmanship of Edward I. Cutler of Tampa. The Reporter was Ronald DeKoven of New York City.

Members of the Drafting Committee were: Marion W. Benfield, Jr., Champaign, Illinois; William E. Hogan, New York, New York; Stanley M. Johnston, Springfield, Illinois; Peter F. Langrock, Middlebury, Vermont; Morris W. Macey, Atlanta, Georgia; Frederick H. Miller, Norman, Oklahoma; Donald Osheim, Watertown, South Dakota; Howard J. Swibel, Chicago, Illinois; Phillip Carroll, Little Rock, Arkansas, President, National Conference; William J. Pierce, Ann Arbor, Michigan, Executive Director, National Conference; Harvey Bartle III, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Chairman, Division C.

Ronald M. Bayer of Los Angeles was the ABA Adviser, Section of Corporation, Banking, and Business Law; William J. Toomajian of Cleveland, Ohio, was the ABA Adviser, Section of Taxation.

The 1989 revisions adding Article 4A were drafted by a committee consisting of:

Reporters: Robert L. Jordan, Los Angeles, California; William D. Warren, Los Angeles, California.

Drafting Committee: Robert Haydock, Boston, Massachusetts, Co-Chairman; Carlyle C. Ring, Jr., Alexandria, Virginia, Co-Chairman; Boris Auerbach, Cincinnati, Ohio; Richard F. Dole, Houston, Texas; William E. Hogan, New York, New York; Charles W. Joiner, Ann Arbor, Michigan; Frederick H. Miller, Norman, Oklahoma; Donald J. Rapson, Livingston, New Jersey, American Law Institute Representative.

Ex Officio Members: Neal Ossen, Hartford, Connecticut, Chairman, Division C; William J. Pierce, Ann Arbor, Michigan, Executive Director, National Conference; Michael P. Sullivan, Minneapolis, Minnesota, President, National Conference.

The 1989 revisions to Article 6 were drafted by a committee consisting of:

Reporters: Steven L. Harris, Champaign, Illinois; William D. Hawkland, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, ULC Reporter.

Drafting Committee: Gerald L. Bepko, Indianapolis, Indiana, Chairman; Millard H. Rudd, Austin, Texas, Drafting Liaison; William D. Hawkland, Baton Rouge, Louisiana; William C. Hillman, Providence, Rhode Island; Frederick H. Miller, Norman, Oklahoma; Raymond P. Pepe, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; Donald J. Rapson, Livingston, New Jersey, American Law Institute Representative; Curtis R. Reitz, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Hiroshi Sakai, Honolulu, Hawaii.

The 1990 revisions to Articles 3 and 4 were drafted by a committee consisting of:

Reporters: Robert L. Jordan, Los Angeles, California; William D. Warren, Los Angeles, California.

Drafting Committee: Robert Haydock, Jr., Boston, Massachusetts, Co-Chairman; Carlyle C. Ring, Jr., Alexandria, Virginia, Co-Chairman; Boris Auerbach, Cincinnati, Ohio; William M. Burke, Los Angeles, California; William E. Hogan, New York, New York; Charles W. Joiner, Ann Arbor, Michigan; Frederick H. Miller, Norman, Oklahoma; Donald J. Rapson, Livingston, New Jersey, American Law Institute Representative.

Ex Officio Members: Lawrence J. Bugge, Madison, Wisconsin; Neal Ossen, Hartford, Connecticut, Chairman, Division C; William J. Pierce, Ann Arbor, Michigan, Executive Director, National Conference.

The 1994 revisions to Article 8 were drafted by a committee consisting of:

Reporter: James Steven Rogers, Newton, Massachusetts.

Drafting Committee: Curtis R. Reitz, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Chair; Ann E. Conaway Anker, Wilmington, Delaware; John Fox Arnold, St. Louis, Missouri; Robert J. Desiderio, Albuquerque, New Mexico; Egon Guttman, Washington, District of Columbia, American Law Institute Representative; Stephen G. Johnakin, Falls Church, Virginia; Howard T. Rosen, Newark, New Jersey; Richard B. Smith, New York, New York, American Law Institute Representative; Howard J. Swibel, Chicago, Illinois; Justin L. Vigdor, Rochester, New York.

Ex Officio Members: Richard C. Hite, Wichita, Kansas, President, National Conference; K. King Burnett, Salisbury, Maryland, Chair, Division A.

Executive Director, National Conference: Frederick H. Miller, Norman, Oklahoma, Executive Director; William J. Pierce, Ann Arbor, Michigan, Executive Director Emeritus.

The 1995 revisions to Article 5 were drafted by a committee consisting of:

Reporter: James J. White, Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Drafting Committee: Carlyle C. Ring, Jr., Vienna, Virginia, Chair; Marion W. Benfield, Jr., Winston-Salem, North Carolina; John P. Burton, Santa Fe, New Mexico, National Conference and American Law Institute Representative; Bruce A. Coggeshall, Portland, Maine; William C. Hillman, Boston, Massachusetts; Edwin E. Huddleson III, Washington, District of Columbia, American Law Institute Representative; Jeremiah Marsh, Chicago, Illinois; Richard L. Morningstar, Washington, District of Columbia; Edwin E. Smith, Boston, Massachusetts; Sandra S. Stern, Scarsdale, New York.

Ex Officio Members: Richard C. Hite, Wichita, Kansas, President, National Conference; Neal Ossen, Hartford, Connecticut, Chair, Division C.

Executive Director, National Conference: Frederick H. Miller, Norman, Oklahoma, Executive Director; William J. Pierce, Ann Arbor, Michigan, Executive Director Emeritus.

The 1999 revisions to Article 9 were drafted by a committee consisting of:

Co-Reporters: Steven L. Harris, Chicago-Kent College of Law, Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, Illinois; Charles W. Mooney, Jr., University of Pennsylvania Law School, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Drafting Committee: William M. Burke, Hong Kong, China, Chair; Marion W. Benfield, Jr., The University of Texas School of Law, New Braunfels, Texas; Neil B. Cohen, Brooklyn Law School, Brooklyn, New York, The American Law Institute Representative; Dale G. Higer, Boise, Idaho; William C. Hillman, United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Massachusetts, Boston, Massachusetts; Michael Houghton, Wilmington, Delaware; Randal C. Picker, University of Chicago Law School, Chicago, Illinois; Donald J. Rapson, Livingston, New Jersey, The American Law Institute Representative; Harry C. Sigman, Los Angeles, California, The American Law Institute Representative; Bradley Y. Smith, New York, New York, The American Law Institute Representative; Edwin E. Smith, Boston, Massachusetts; Sandra S. Stern, New York, New York.

Ex Officio Members: Gene N. Lebrun, Rapid City, South Dakota, President, NCCUSL**; Henry Marshall Kittleson, Lakeland, Florida, Chair, Division E, NCCUSL.**

American Bar Association Advisers: Steven O. Weise, Los Angeles, California; Robert Bauer, Arlington, Virginia, Intellectual Property Law Section; Richard E. Cherin, Newark, New Jersey, Business Law Section; Richard R. Goldberg, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Real Property, Probate & Trust Law Section; Lawrence A. Manzanares, Denver, Colorado, Judicial Administration Division, National Conference of Special Court Judges.

Executive Director, NCCUSL**: Frederick H. Miller, University of Oklahoma Law Center, Norman, Oklahoma, Executive Director; William J. Pierce, Ann Arbor, Michigan, Executive Director Emeritus.