LexisNexis ( January 22, 2019, 11:55 AM EST) -- Under the fraud loss allocation rules of the UCC, particularly the finality doctrine of Price v. Neal, the drawee bank usually ends up holding the bag on forged or counterfeit checks that it pays and fails to return by the midnight deadline. By contrast, if a check is altered, the drawee bank can shift the loss upstream to the bank of first deposit, based on breach of warranty. Particularly when the check has been truncated, there is no paper version to examine; it’s difficult to determine whether a check has been forged or altered. There is a clash in the federal appellate courts on the issue. A decision of the Seventh Circuit, penned by Judge Posner, solves the problem by breaking the “tie” in favor of alteration. By contrast, the Fourth Circuit protects the bank of first deposit, based on the finality principle....