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<law><site_title>Virginia Decoded</site_title><site_url>https://vacode.org</site_url><law_id>67226</law_id><section_number>8.4-403</section_number><catch_line>Customer&amp;#8217;s right to stop payment; burden of proof of loss</catch_line><edition url="https://vacode.org/2025/" slug="2025" current="TRUE" last_updated="">2025</edition><referred_to_by><reference>8.3A-418</reference><reference>8.4-401</reference></referred_to_by><structure><unit label="title" level="1" order_by="1" identifier="8.4">Commercial Code &#x2014; Bank Deposits and Collections</unit><unit label="part" level="2" order_by="1" identifier="4">Relationship Between Payor Bank and Its Customer</unit></structure><text>
						<section id="a"><p><span class="prefix-number">a.</span> A customer or any person authorized to draw on the account if there is more than one person may stop payment of any item drawn on the customer&#x2019;s account or close the account by an <span class="dictionary">order</span> to the <span class="dictionary">bank</span> describing the item or account with reasonable certainty received at a time and in a manner that affords the <span class="dictionary">bank</span> a reasonable opportunity to act on it before any action by the <span class="dictionary">bank</span> with respect to the item described in &#xA7; <a class="law" title="When items subject to notice, stop-payment order, legal process or setoff; order in which items may be charged or certified" href="/8.4-303/">8.4-303</a>. If the signature of more than one person is required to draw on an account, any of these persons may stop payment or close the account. <a id="paragraph-243677" class="section-permalink" href="https://vacode.org/8.4-403/#a"><i class="fa fa-link"/></a></p></section>
						<section id="b"><p><span class="prefix-number">b.</span> A stop-payment <span class="dictionary">order</span> is effective for six months, but it lapses after fourteen calendar days if the original <span class="dictionary">order</span> was oral and was not confirmed in writing within that period. A stop-payment <span class="dictionary">order</span> may be renewed for additional six-month periods by a writing given to the <span class="dictionary">bank</span> within a period during which the stop-payment <span class="dictionary">order</span> is effective. <a id="paragraph-243678" class="section-permalink" href="https://vacode.org/8.4-403/#b"><i class="fa fa-link"/></a></p></section>
						<section id="c"><p><span class="prefix-number">c.</span> The burden of establishing the <span class="dictionary">fact</span> and amount of loss resulting from the payment of an item contrary to a stop-payment <span class="dictionary">order</span> or <span class="dictionary">order</span> to close an account is on the customer. The loss from payment of an item contrary to a stop-payment <span class="dictionary">order</span> may include <span class="dictionary">damages</span> for dishonor of subsequent items under &#xA7; <a class="law" title="Bank's liability to customer for wrongful dishonor; time of determining insufficiency of account" href="/8.4-402/">8.4-402</a>. <a id="paragraph-243679" class="section-permalink" href="https://vacode.org/8.4-403/#c"><i class="fa fa-link"/></a></p></section></text><history>Code 1950, &#xA7; 6-73; 1964, c. 219; 1992, c. 693.</history><metadata></metadata></law>
