(a) A person entitled to enforce an instrument, with or without consideration, may discharge the obligation of a party to pay the instrument (i) by an intentional voluntary act, such as surrender of the instrument to the party, destruction, mutilation, or cancellation of the instrument, cancellation or striking out of the party's signature, or the addition of words to the instrument indicating discharge, or (ii) by agreeing not to sue or otherwise renouncing rights against the party by a signed record. The obligation of a party to pay a check is not discharged solely by destruction of the check in connection with a process in which information is extracted from the check and an image of the check is made and, subsequently, the information and image are transmitted for payment.

(b) Cancellation or striking out of an indorsement pursuant to subsection (a) does not affect the status and rights of a party derived from the indorsement.

Annotations

Under former section 3-605, the language "I will surrender my notes" does not indicate an outright renunciation of the payee's rights, but has reference to the second clause of the section regarding discharge by future surrender of the notes, and being without consideration, is unenforceable. Gorham v. John F. Kennedy College, Inc., 191 Neb. 790, 217 N.W.2d 919 (1974).

Pursuant to subsection (2) of section 27-804, an alleged verbal cancellation or discharge of a promissory note cannot be said to be against a decedent's pecuniary interest, because there was no evidence of discharge by one of the physical acts, as detailed in Uniform Commercial Code section 3-604(a)(i), nor was there a signed writing, as detailed in section 3-604(a)(ii), offered or received into evidence which purported to discharge the debt owed to the decedent. Haynes v. Dover, 17 Neb. App. 640, 768 N.W.2d 140 (2009).