(a) Any instruments so proved or acknowledged, certified and registered, shall be received as evidence in any of the courts, judicial and administrative tribunals of the state, subject, nevertheless, to be impeached and proved to be a forgery, or to be otherwise inoperative, if the fact be so.

Terms Used In Tennessee Code 66-26-110

  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • Forgery: The fraudulent signing or alteration of another's name to an instrument such as a deed, mortgage, or check. The intent of the forgery is to deceive or defraud. Source: OCC
  • Pleadings: Written statements of the parties in a civil case of their positions. In the federal courts, the principal pleadings are the complaint and the answer.
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
(b) In an action with respect to an instrument, the authenticity of and authority to make each signature on the instrument is admitted, unless specifically denied in the pleadings. If the validity of a signature is denied in the pleadings, and if the instrument is not registered or is not properly acknowledged or proved, the burden of establishing validity is on the person claiming validity, but the signature is presumed to be authentic and authorized, unless:

(1) The signer is dead or incompetent at the time of trial on the issue of validity of the signature; and
(2) The instrument is unregistered or has been registered for fewer than twenty (20) years.
(c) Under the presumption set forth in subsection (b), the trier of fact must find that the signature is authentic and authorized, unless evidence to the contrary is introduced.
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