Virginia Code 8.7-504: Rights acquired in the absence of due negotiation; effect of diversion; seller’s stoppage of delivery
(1) A transferee of a document, whether negotiable or nonnegotiable, to whom the document has been delivered but not duly negotiated, acquires the title and rights that his transferor had or had actual authority to convey.
Terms Used In Virginia Code 8.7-504
- Bailee: means the person who by a warehouse receipt, bill of lading or other document acknowledges possession of goods and contracts to deliver them. See Virginia Code 8.7-102
- Consignee: means the person named in a bill to whom or to whose order the bill promises delivery. See Virginia Code 8.7-102
- Consignor: means the person named in a bill as the person from whom the goods have been received for shipment. See Virginia Code 8.7-102
- Document: means document of title as defined in the general definitions in Title 8. See Virginia Code 8.7-102
- Good faith: means honesty in fact and the observance of reasonable commercial standards of fair dealing. See Virginia Code 8.7-102
- Goods: means all things that are treated as movable for the purposes of a contract of storage or transportation. See Virginia Code 8.7-102
(2) In the case of a nonnegotiable document, until but not after the bailee receives notification of the transfer, the rights of the transferee may be defeated:
(a) by those creditors of the transferor who could treat the sale as void under § 8.2-402 or § 8.2A-308; or
(b) by a buyer from the transferor in ordinary course of business if the bailee has delivered the goods to the buyer or received notification of his rights; or
(c) by a lessee from the transferor in ordinary course of business if the bailee has delivered the goods to the lessee or received notification of the lessee’s rights; or
(d) as against the bailee by good faith dealings of the bailee with the transferor.
(3) A diversion or other change of shipping instructions by the consignor in a nonnegotiable bill of lading that causes the bailee not to deliver to the consignee defeats the consignee’s title to the goods if they have been delivered to a buyer or lessee in ordinary course of business and, in any event, defeats the consignee’s rights against the bailee.
(4) Delivery pursuant to a nonnegotiable document may be stopped by a seller under § 8.2-705 or a lessor under § 8.2A-526, subject to the requirement of due notification there provided. A bailee honoring the seller’s or lessor’s instructions is entitled to be indemnified by the seller or lessor against any resulting loss or expense.
Code 1950, §§ 61-44, 61-45; 1964, c. 219; 2004, c. 200.