8.4-103 - Variation by agreement; measure of damages; action constituting ordinary care.
§ 8.4-103. Variation by agreement; measure of damages; action constitutingordinary care.
(a) The effect of the provisions of this title may be varied by agreement butthe parties to the agreement cannot disclaim a bank's responsibility for itslack of good faith or failure to exercise ordinary care or limit the measureof damages for the lack or failure. However, the parties may determine byagreement the standards by which the bank's responsibility is to be measuredif those standards are not manifestly unreasonable.
(b) Federal reserve regulations and operating circulars, clearing houserules, and the like have the effect of agreements under subsection (a),whether or not specifically assented to by all parties interested in itemshandled.
(c) Action or nonaction approved by this title or pursuant to federal reserveregulations or operating circulars is the exercise of ordinary care and, inthe absence of special instructions, action or nonaction consistent withclearing-house rules and the like or with a general banking usage notdisapproved by this title, prima facie the exercise of ordinary care.
(d) The specification or approval of certain procedures by this title is notdisapproval of other procedures that may be reasonable under thecircumstances.
(e) The measure of damages for failure to exercise ordinary care in handlingan item is the amount of the item reduced by an amount that could not havebeen realized by the exercise of ordinary care. If there is also bad faithit includes any other damages the party suffered as a proximate consequence.
(1964, c. 219; 1992, c. 693.)