PDFRCW 63.30.610

Evidence of unpaid debt or undischarged obligation.

(1) A record of a putative holder showing an unpaid debt or undischarged obligation is prima facie evidence of the debt or obligation.
(2) A putative holder may establish by a preponderance of the evidence that there is no unpaid debt or undischarged obligation for a debt or obligation described in subsection (1) of this section or that the debt or obligation was not, or no longer is, a fixed and certain obligation of the putative holder.
(3) A putative holder may overcome prima facie evidence under subsection (1) of this section by establishing by a preponderance of the evidence that a check, draft, or similar instrument was:
(a) Issued as an unaccepted offer in settlement of an unliquidated amount;
(b) Issued but later was replaced with another instrument because the earlier instrument was lost or contained an error that was corrected;
(c) Issued to a party affiliated with the issuer;
(d) Paid, satisfied, or discharged;
(e) Issued in error;
(f) Issued without consideration;
(g) Issued but there was a failure of consideration;
(h) Voided within a reasonable time after issuance for a valid business reason set forth in a contemporaneous record; or
(i) Issued but not delivered to the third-party payee for a sufficient reason recorded within a reasonable time after issuance.
(4) In asserting a defense under this section, a putative holder may present evidence of a course of dealing between the putative holder and the apparent owner or of custom and practice.
[ 2022 c 225 § 1005.]