Kentucky Notice of Bad Check or NSF Check - Civil Laws
This is a Notice of Bad Check or NSF Check - Civil. A "dishonored check" (also known as a "bounced check" or "bad check") is a Bad Check or NSF check which the bank will not pay because there is no such checking account, or there are insufficient funds in the account to pay the Bad Check or NSF check. In order to attempt the greatest possible recovery on a Bad Check or NSF check, the business owner, or any other person given a Bad Check or NSF check, may be required by state law to notify the debtor that the Bad Check or NSF check was dishonored.
Kentucky Bad Check Law Summary - Kentucky Notice of Bad Check or NSF Check - Civil Laws
Kentucky Bad Check Law Summary
Notice of Bad Check or NSF Check
Note: This summary is not intended to be an all inclusive summary of the Kentucky bad check laws, but does contain basic and other provisions.
Kentucky Revised Statutes
TITLE L - KENTUCKY PENAL CODE
CHAPTER 514 - THEFT AND RELATED OFFENSES
514.040. Theft by deception.
(1) A person is guilty of theft by deception when the person obtains property or
services of another by deception with intent to deprive the person thereof. A
person deceives when the person intentionally:
(a) Creates or reinforces a false impression, including false impressions as to
law, value, intention, or other state of mind;
(b) Prevents another from acquiring information which would affect judgment of a
transaction;
(c) Fails to correct a false impression which the deceiver previously created or
reinforced or which the deceiver knows to be influencing another to whom the
person stands in a fiduciary or confidential relationship;
(d) Fails to disclose a known lien, adverse claim, or other legal impediment to
the enjoyment of property which the person transfers or encumbers in
consideration for the property obtained, whether the impediment is or is not
valid or is or is not a matter of official record; or
(e) Issues or passes a bad check or NSF check or similar sight order for the
payment of money, knowing that it will not be honored by the drawee.
(2) The term "deceive" does not, however, include falsity as to matters having
no pecuniary significance or puffing by statements unlikely to deceive ordinary
persons in the group addressed.
(3) Deception as to a person's intention to perform a promise shall not be
inferred from the fact alone that he did not subsequently perform the promise.
(4) For purposes of subsection (1) of this section, a maker of a bad check or
NSF check or similar sight order for the payment of money is presumed to know
that the bad check or NSF check or order, other than a postdated bad check or
NSF check or order, would not be paid, if:
(a) The maker had no account with the drawee at the time the bad check or NSF
check or order was issued; or
(b) Payment was refused by the drawee for lack of funds, upon presentation
within thirty (30) days after issue, and the maker failed to make good within
ten (10) days after receiving notice of that refusal. A maker makes good on a
bad check or NSF check or similar sight order for the payment of money by paying
to the holder the face amount of the instrument, together with any merchant's
posted reasonable bad bad check or NSF check handling fee not to exceed
twenty-five dollars ($25) and any fee imposed pursuant to subsection (5) of this
section.
(5) If a county attorney issues notice to a maker that a drawee has refused to
honor an instrument due to a lack of funds as described in subsection (4)(b) of
this section, the county attorney may charge a fee to the maker of twenty-five
dollars ($25), if the instrument is paid. Money paid to the county attorney
pursuant to this section shall be used only for payment of county attorney
office operating expenses. Excess fees held by the county attorney on June 30 of
each year shall be turned over to the county treasurer before the end of the
next fiscal year for use by the fiscal court of the county.
(6) A person is guilty of theft by deception when the person issues a bad check
or NSF check or similar sight order in payment of all or any part of any tax
payable to the Commonwealth knowing that it will not be honored by the drawee.
(7) A person is guilty of theft by deception when the person issues a bad check
or NSF check or similar sight order in payment of all or any part of a child
support obligation knowing that it will not be honored by the drawee.
(8) Theft by deception is a Class A misdemeanor unless the value of the
property, service, or the amount of the bad check or NSF check or sight order
referred to in subsection (6) or (7) of this section is three hundred dollars
($300) or more, in which case it is a Class D felony.