Ala. Code § 7-9A-101 Short Title.
7-9A-101. Short Title.
This article may be cited as Uniform Commercial Code-Secured Transactions.
(Act 2001-481, p. 647, §1.)
Short Title, Definitions, and General Concepts.
Ala. Code tit. 7, art. 9A, pt. 1, div. 1
in effectAla. Code § 7-9A-102 Definitions and Index of Definitions.
7-9A-102. Definitions and Index of Definitions.
(a) Article 9A definitions. In this article:
(1) “Accession” means goods that are physically united with other goods in such a manner that the identity of the original goods is not lost.
(2) “Account,” except as used in “account for,” “account statement,” “account to,” “commodity account” in paragraph (14), “customer’s account,” “deposit account” in paragraph (29), “on account of,” and “statement of account,”means a right to payment of a monetary obligation, whether or not earned by performance, (i) for property that has been or is to be sold, leased, licensed, assigned, or otherwise disposed of, (ii) for services rendered or to be rendered, (iii) for a policy of insurance issued or to be issued, (iv) for a secondary obligation incurred or to be incurred, (v) for energy provided or to be provided, (vi) for the use or hire of a vessel under a charter or other contract, (vii) arising out of the use of a credit or charge card or information contained on or for use with the card, or (viii) as winnings in a lottery or other game of chance operated or sponsored by a State, governmental unit of a State, or person licensed or authorized to operate the game by a State or governmental unit of a State. The term includes controllable accounts and health-care-insurance receivables. The term does not include (i) chattel paper, (ii) commercial tort claims, (iii) deposit accounts, (iv) investment property, (v) letter-of-credit rights or letters of credit, (vi) rights to payment for money or funds advanced or sold, other than rights arising out of the use of a credit or charge card or information contained on or for use with the card, or (vii) rights to payment evidenced by an instrument.
(3) “Account debtor” means a person obligated on an account, chattel paper, or general intangible. The term does not include persons obligated to pay a negotiable instrument, even if the negotiable instrument evidences chattel paper.
(4) “Accounting,” except as used in “accounting for,” means a record:
(A) signed by a secured party;
(B) indicating the aggregate unpaid secured obligations as of a date not more than 35 days earlier or 35 days later than the date of the record; and
(C) identifying the components of the obligations in reasonable detail.
(5) “Agricultural lien” means an interest, other than a security interest, in farm products:
(A) which secures payment or performance of an obligation for:
(i) goods or services furnished in connection with a debtor’s farming operation; or
(ii) rent on real property leased by a debtor in connection with its farming operation;
(B) which is created by statute in favor of a person that:
(i) in the ordinary course of its business furnished goods or services to a debtor in connection with a debtor’s farming operation; or
(ii) leased real property to a debtor in connection with the debtor’s farming operation; and
(C) whose effectiveness does not depend on the person’s possession of the personal property.
(6) “As-extracted collateral” means:
(A) oil, gas, or other minerals that are subject to a security interest that:
(i) is created by a debtor having an interest in the minerals before extraction; and
(ii) attaches to the minerals as extracted; or
(B) accounts arising out of the sale at the wellhead or mine of oil, gas, or other minerals in which the debtor had an interest before extraction.
(7) [Reserved].
(7A) “Assignee,” except as used in “assignee for benefit of creditors,” means a person (i) in whose favor a security interest that secures an obligation is created or provided for under a security agreement, whether or not the obligation is outstanding or (ii) to which an account, chattel paper, payment intangible, or promissory note has been sold. The term includes a person to which a security interest has been transferred by a secured party.
(7B) “Assignor” means a person that (i) under a security agreement creates or provides for a security interest that secures an obligation or (ii) sells an account, chattel paper, payment intangible, or promissory note. The term includes a secured party that has transferred a security interest to another person.
(8) “Bank” means an organization that is engaged in the business of banking. The term includes savings banks, savings and loan associations, credit unions, and trust companies.
(9) “Cash proceeds” means proceeds that are money, checks, deposit accounts, or the like.
(9A) “Central bank digital currency” means a digital currency, a digital medium of exchange, or a digital monetary unit of account issued by the United States Federal Reserve System, a federal agency, a foreign government, a foreign central bank, or a foreign reserve system, that is made directly available to a consumer by such entities. The term includes a digital currency, a digital medium of exchange, or a digital monetary unit of account issued by the United States Federal Reserve System, a federal agency, a foreign government, a foreign central bank, or a foreign reserve system, that is processed or validated directly by such entities.
(10) “Certificate of title” means a certificate of title with respect to which a statute provides for the security interest in question to be indicated on the certificate as a condition or result of the security interest’s obtaining priority over the rights of a lien creditor with respect to the collateral. The term includes another record maintained as an alternative to a certificate of title by the governmental unit that issues certificates of title if a statute permits the security interest in question to be indicated on the record as a condition or result of the security interest’s obtaining priority over the rights of a lien creditor with respect to the collateral.
(11) “Chattel paper” means:
(A) a right to payment of a monetary obligation secured by specific goods, if the right to payment and security agreement are evidenced by a record; or
(B) a right to payment of a monetary obligation owed by a lessee under a lease agreement with respect to specific goods and a monetary obligation owed by the lessee in connection with the transaction giving rise to the lease, if:
(i) the right to payment and lease agreement are evidenced by a record; and
(ii) the predominant purpose of the transaction giving rise to the lease was to give the lessee the right to possession and use of the goods.
The term does not include a right to payment arising out of a charter or other contract involving the use or hire of a vessel or a right to payment arising out of the use of a credit or charge card or information contained on or for use with the card.
(12) “Collateral” means the property subject to a security interest or agricultural lien. The term includes:
(A) proceeds to which a security interest attaches;
(B) accounts, chattel paper, payment intangibles, and promissory notes that have been sold; and
(C) goods that are the subject of a consignment.
(13) “Commercial tort claim” means a claim arising in tort with respect to which:
(A) the claimant is an organization; or
(B) the claimant is an individual and the claim:
(i) arose in the course of the claimant’s business or profession; and
(ii) does not include damages arising out of personal injury to or the death of an individual.
(14) “Commodity account” means an account maintained by a commodity intermediary in which a commodity contract is carried for a commodity customer.
(15) “Commodity contract” means a commodity futures contract, an option on a commodity futures contract, a commodity option, or another contract if the contract or option is:
(A) traded on or subject to the rules of a board of trade that has been designated as a contract market for such a contract pursuant to federal commodities laws; or
(B) traded on a foreign commodity board of trade, exchange, or market, and is carried on the books of a commodity intermediary for a commodity customer.
(16) “Commodity customer” means a person for which a commodity intermediary carries a commodity contract on its books.
(17) “Commodity intermediary” means a person that:
(A) is registered as a futures commission merchant under federal commodities law; or
(B) in the ordinary course of its business provides clearance or settlement services for a board of trade that has been designated as a contract market pursuant to federal commodities law.
(18) “Communicate” means:
(A) to send a written or other tangible record;
(B) to transmit a record by any means agreed upon by the persons sending and receiving the record; or
(C) in the case of transmission of a record to or by a filing office, to transmit a record by any means prescribed by filing-office rule.
(19) “Consignee” means a merchant to which goods are delivered in a consignment.
(20) “Consignment” means a transaction, regardless of its form, in which a person delivers goods to a merchant for the purpose of sale and:
(A) the merchant:
(i) deals in goods of that kind under a name other than the name of the person making delivery;
(ii) is not an auctioneer; and
(iii) is not generally known by its creditors to be substantially engaged in selling the goods of others;
(B) with respect to each delivery, the aggregate value of the goods is one thousand dollars ($1,000) or more at the time of delivery;
(C) the goods are not consumer goods immediately before delivery; and
(D) the transaction does not create a security interest that secures an obligation.
(21) “Consignor” means a person that delivers goods to a consignee in a consignment.
(22) “Consumer debtor” means a debtor in a consumer transaction.
(23) “Consumer goods” means goods that are used or bought for use primarily for personal, family, or household purposes.
(24) “Consumer-goods transaction” means a consumer transaction in which:
(A) an individual incurs an obligation primarily for personal, family, or household purposes; and
(B) a security interest in consumer goods secures the obligation.
(25) “Consumer obligor” means an obligor who is an individual and who incurred the obligation as part of a transaction entered into primarily for personal, family, or household purposes.
(26) “Consumer transaction” means a transaction in which (i) an individual incurs an obligation primarily for personal, family, or household purposes, (ii) a security interest secures the obligation, and (iii) the collateral is held or acquired primarily for personal, family, or household purposes. The term includes consumer-goods transactions.
(27) “Continuation statement” means an amendment of a financing statement which:
(A) identifies, by its file number, the initial financing statement to which it relates; and
(B) indicates that it is a continuation statement for, or that it is filed to continue the effectiveness of, the identified financing statement.
(27A) “Controllable account” means an account evidenced by a controllable electronic record that provides that the account debtor undertakes to pay the person that has control under Section 7-12-105 of the controllable electronic record.
(27B) “Controllable payment intangible” means a payment intangible evidenced by a controllable electronic record that provides that the account debtor undertakes to pay the person that has control under Section 7-12-105 of the controllable electronic record.
(28) “Debtor” means:
(A) a person having an interest, other than a security interest or other lien, in the collateral, whether or not the person is an obligor;
(B) a seller of accounts, chattel paper, payment intangibles, or promissory notes; or
(C) a consignee.
(29) “Deposit account” means a demand, time, savings, passbook, or similar account maintained with a bank. The term does not include investment property, a central bank digital currency, or accounts evidenced by an instrument.
(30) “Document” means a document of title or a receipt of the type described in Section 7-7-201(b).
(31) [Reserved].
(32) “Encumbrance” means a right, other than an ownership interest, in real property. The term includes mortgages and other liens on real property.
(33) “Equipment” means goods other than inventory, farm products, or consumer goods.
(34) “Farm products” means goods, other than standing timber, with respect to which the debtor is engaged in a farming operation and which are:
(A) crops grown, growing, or to be grown, including:
(i) crops produced on trees, vines, and bushes; and
(ii) aquatic goods produced in aquacultural operations;
(B) livestock, born or unborn, including aquatic goods produced in aquacultural operations;
(C) supplies used or produced in a farming operation; or
(D) products of crops or livestock in their unmanufactured states.
(35) “Farming operation” means raising, cultivating, propagating, fattening, grazing, or any other farming, livestock, or aquacultural operation.
(36) “File number” means the number assigned to an initial financing statement pursuant to Section 7-9A-519(a).
(37) “Filing office” means an office designated in Section 7-9A-501 as the place to file a financing statement.
(38) “Filing-office rule” means a rule adopted pursuant to Section 7-9A-526.
(39) “Financing statement” means a record or records composed of an initial financing statement and any filed record relating to the initial financing statement.
(40) “Fixture filing” means the filing of a financing statement covering goods that are or are to become fixtures and satisfying Section 7-9A-502(a) and (b). The term includes the filing of a financing statement covering goods of a transmitting utility which are or are to become fixtures.
(41) “Fixtures” means goods that have become so related to particular real property that an interest in them arises under real property law.
(42) “General intangible” means any personal property, including things in action, other than accounts, chattel paper, commercial tort claims, deposit accounts, documents, goods, instruments, investment property, letter-of-credit rights, letters of credit, money, and oil, gas, or other minerals before extraction. The term includes controllable electronic records, payment intangibles, and software.
(43) “Good faith” means honesty in fact in the conduct or transaction concerned.
(44) “Goods” means all things that are movable when a security interest attaches. The term includes (i) fixtures, (ii) standing timber that is to be cut and removed under a conveyance or contract for sale, to the extent such standing timber and cutting rights with respect thereto are considered as chattels under Section 35-4-363, (iii) the unborn young of animals, (iv) crops grown, growing, or to be grown, even if the crops are produced on trees, vines, or bushes, and (v) manufactured homes. The term also includes a computer program embedded in goods and any supporting information provided in connection with a transaction relating to the program if (i) the program is associated with the goods in such a manner that it customarily is considered part of the goods, or (ii) by becoming the owner of the goods, a person acquires a right to use the program in connection with the goods. The term does not include a computer program embedded in goods that consist solely of the medium in which the program is embedded. The term also does not include accounts, chattel paper, commercial tort claims, deposit accounts, documents, general intangibles, instruments, investment property, letter-of-credit rights, letters of credit, money, or oil, gas, or other minerals before extraction.
(45) “Governmental unit” means a subdivision, agency, department, county, parish, municipality, or other unit of the government of the United States, a state, or a foreign country. The term includes an organization having a separate corporate existence if the organization is eligible to issue debt on which interest is exempt from income taxation under the laws of the United States.
(46) “Health-care-insurance receivable” means an interest in or claim under a policy of insurance which is a right to payment of a monetary obligation for health-care goods or services provided.
(47) “Instrument” means a negotiable instrument or any other writing that evidences a right to the payment of a monetary obligation, is not itself a security agreement or lease, and is of a type that in ordinary course of business is transferred by delivery with any necessary indorsement or assignment. The term does not include (i) investment property, (ii) letters of credit, (iii) writings that evidence a right to payment arising out of the use of a credit or charge card or information contained on or for use with the card, or (iv) writings that evidence chattel paper.
(48) “Inventory” means goods, other than farm products, which:
(A) are leased by a person as lessor;
(B) are held by a person for sale or lease or to be furnished under a contract of service;
(C) are furnished by a person under a contract of service; or
(D) consist of raw materials, work in process, or materials used or consumed in a business.
(49) “Investment property” means a security, whether certificated or uncertificated, security entitlement, securities account, commodity contract, or commodity account.
(50) “Jurisdiction of organization,” with respect to a registered organization, means the jurisdiction under whose law the organization is formed or organized.
(51) “Letter-of-credit right” means a right to payment or performance under a letter of credit, whether or not the beneficiary has demanded or is at the time entitled to demand payment or performance. The term does not include the right of a beneficiary to demand payment or performance under a letter of credit.
(52) “Lien creditor” means:
(A) a creditor that has acquired a lien on the property involved by attachment, levy, or the like;
(B) an assignee for benefit of creditors from the time of assignment;
(C) a trustee in bankruptcy from the date of the filing of the petition; or
(D) a receiver in equity from the time of appointment.
(53) “Manufactured home” means a structure defined as a “manufactured home” in Section 32-20-2.
(54) “Manufactured-home transaction” means a secured transaction:
(A) that creates a purchase-money security interest in a manufactured home, other than a manufactured home held as inventory; or
(B) in which a manufactured home, other than a manufactured home held as inventory, is the primary collateral.
(54A) “Money” has the meaning as in Section 7-1-201(b)(24), but does not include a deposit account.
(55) “Mortgage” means a consensual interest in real property, including fixtures, which secures payment or performance of an obligation.
(56) “New debtor” means a person that becomes bound as debtor under Section 7-9A-203(d) by a security agreement previously entered into by another person.
(57) “New value” means (i) money, (ii) money’s worth in property, services, or new credit, or (iii) release by a transferee of an interest in property previously transferred to the transferee. The term does not include an obligation substituted for another obligation.
(58) “Noncash proceeds” means proceeds other than cash proceeds.
(59) “Obligor” means a person that, with respect to an obligation secured by a security interest in or an agricultural lien on the collateral, (i) owes payment or other performance of the obligation, (ii) has provided property other than the collateral to secure payment or other performance of the obligation, or (iii) is otherwise accountable in whole or in part for payment or other performance of the obligation. The term does not include issuers or nominated persons under a letter of credit.
(60) “Original debtor,” except as used in Section 7-9A-310(c), means a person that, as debtor, entered into a security agreement to which a new debtor has become bound under Section 7-9A-203(d).
(61) “Payment intangible” means a general intangible under which the account debtor’s principal obligation is a monetary obligation. The term includes a controllable payment intangible.
(62) “Person related to,” with respect to an individual, means:
(A) the spouse of the individual;
(B) a brother, brother-in-law, sister, or sister-in-law of the individual;
(C) an ancestor or lineal descendant of the individual or the individual’s spouse; or
(D) any other relative, by blood or marriage, of the individual or the individual’s spouse who shares the same home with the individual.
(63) “Person related to,” with respect to an organization, means:
(A) a person directly or indirectly controlling, controlled by, or under common control with the organization;
(B) an officer or director of, or a person performing similar functions with respect to, the organization;
(C) an officer or director of, or a person performing similar functions with respect to, a person described in subparagraph (A);
(D) the spouse of an individual described in subparagraph (A), (B), or (C); or
(E) an individual who is related by blood or marriage to an individual described in subparagraph (A), (B), (C), or (D) and shares the same home with the individual.
(64) “Proceeds,” except as used in Section 7-9A-609(b), means the following property:
(A) whatever is acquired upon the sale, lease, license, exchange, or other disposition of collateral;
(B) whatever is collected on, or distributed on account of, collateral;
(C) rights arising out of collateral;
(D) to the extent of the value of collateral, claims arising out of the loss, nonconformity, or interference with the use of, defects or infringement of rights in, or damage to, the collateral; or
(E) to the extent of the value of collateral and to the extent payable to the debtor or the secured party, insurance payable by reason of the loss or nonconformity of, defects or infringement of rights in, or damage to, the collateral.
(65) “Promissory note” means an instrument that evidences a promise to pay a monetary obligation, does not evidence an order to pay, and does not contain an acknowledgment by a bank that the bank has received for deposit a sum of money or funds.
(66) “Proposal” means a record signed by a secured party which includes the terms on which the secured party is willing to accept collateral in full or partial satisfaction of the obligation it secures pursuant to Sections 7-9A-620, 7-9A-621, and 7-9A-622.
(67) Omitted.
(68) “Public organic record” means a record that is available to the public for inspection and that is:
(A) a record consisting of the record initially filed with or issued by a state or the United States to form or organize an organization and any record filed with or issued by the state or the United States which amends or restates the initial record;
(B) an organic record of a business trust consisting of the record initially filed with a state and any record filed with the state which amends or restates the initial record, if a statute of the state governing business trusts requires that the record be filed with the state; or
(C) a record consisting of legislation enacted by the legislature of a state or the Congress of the United States which forms or organizes an organization, any record amending the legislation, and any record filed with or issued by the state or United States which amends or restates the name of the organization.
For purposes of this definition and the definition of registered organization, a certificate of formation filed with a judge of probate pursuant to Section 10A-1-4.02(a) is filed with the state.
(69) “Pursuant to commitment,” with respect to an advance made or other value given by a secured party, means pursuant to the secured party’s obligation, whether or not a subsequent event of default or other event not within the secured party’s control has relieved or may relieve the secured party from its obligation.
(70) “Record,” except as used in “for record,” “of record,” “record or legal title,” and “record owner,” means information that is inscribed on a tangible medium or which is stored in an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in perceivable form.
(71) “Registered organization” means an organization formed or organized solely under the law of a single State or the United States by the filing of a public organic record with, the issuance of a public organic record by, or the enactment of legislation by the state or the United States. The term includes a business trust that is formed or organized under the law of a single state if a statute of the state governing business trusts requires that the business trust’s organic record be filed with the state.
(72) “Secondary obligor” means an obligor to the extent that:
(A) the obligor’s obligation is secondary; or
(B) the obligor has a right of recourse with respect to an obligation secured by collateral against the debtor, another obligor, or property of either.
(73) “Secured party” means:
(A) a person in whose favor a security interest is created or provided for under a security agreement, whether or not any obligation to be secured is outstanding;
(B) a person that holds an agricultural lien;
(C) a consignor;
(D) a person to which accounts, chattel paper, payment intangibles, or promissory notes have been sold;
(E) a trustee, indenture trustee, agent, collateral agent, or other representative in whose favor a security interest or agricultural lien is created or provided for; or
(F) a person that holds a security interest arising under Section 7-2-401, 7-2-505, 7-2-711(3), 7-2A-508(5), 7-4-210, or 7-5-118.
(74) “Security agreement” means an agreement that creates or provides for a security interest.
(75) [Reserved.]
(76) “Software” means a computer program and any supporting information provided in connection with a transaction relating to the program. The term does not include a computer program that is included in the definition of goods.
(77) “State” means a state of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, or any territory or insular possession subject to the jurisdiction of the United States.
(78) “Supporting obligation” means a letter-of-credit right or secondary obligation that supports the payment or performance of an account, chattel paper, a document, a general intangible, an instrument, or investment property.
(79) [Reserved.]
(80) “Termination statement” means an amendment of a financing statement which:
(A) identifies, by its file number, the initial financing statement to which it relates; and
(B) indicates either that it is a termination statement or that the identified financing statement is no longer effective.
(81) “Transmitting utility” means a person primarily engaged in the business of:
(A) operating a railroad, subway, street railway, or trolley bus;
(B) transmitting communications electrically, electromagnetically, or by light;
(C) transmitting goods by pipeline or sewer;
(D) transmitting or producing or distributing electricity, steam, gas, or water; or
(E) owning, operating, leasing or controlling a “utility” as defined in Section 37-1-30.
(b) Definitions in other articles. “Control” as provided in Section 7-7-106 and the following definitions in other articles of this title apply to this article:
“Applicant.” Section 7-5-102.
“Beneficiary.” Section 7-5-102.
“Broker.” Section 7-8-102.
“Certificated security.” Section 7-8-102.
“Check.” Section 7-3-104.
“Clearing corporation.” Section 7-8-102.
“Contract for sale.” Section 7-2-106.
“Controllable electronic record.” Section 7-12-102.
“Customer.” Section 7-4-104.
“Entitlement holder.” Section 7-8-102.
“Financial asset.” Section 7-8-102.
“Holder in due course.” Section 7-3-302.
“Issuer” (with respect to a letter of credit or letter-of-credit right). Section 7-5-102.
“Issuer” (with respect to a security). Section 7-8-201.
“Issuer” (with respect to documents of title). Section 7-7-102.
“Lease.” Section 7-2A-103.
“Lease agreement.” Section 7-2A-103.
“Lease contract.” Section 7-2A-103.
“Leasehold interest.” Section 7-2A-103.
“Lessee.” Section 7-2A-103.
“Lessee in ordinary course of business.” Section 7-2A-103.
“Lessor.” Section 7-2A-103.
“Lessor’s residual interest.” Section 7-2A-103.
“Letter of credit.” Section 7-5-102.
“Merchant.” Section 7-2-104.
“Negotiable instrument.” Section 7-3-104.
“Nominated person.” Section 7-5-102.
“Note.” Section 7-3-104.
“Proceeds of a letter of credit.” Section 7-5-114.
“Protected purchaser.” Section 7-8-303.
“Prove.” Section 7-3-103.
“Qualifying purchaser.” Section 7-12-102.
“Sale.” Section 7-2-106.
“Securities account.” Section 7-8-501.
“Securities intermediary.” Section 7-8-102.
“Security.” Section 7-8-102.
“Security certificate.” Section 7-8-102.
“Security entitlement.” Section 7-8-102.
“Uncertificated security.” Section 7-8-102.
(c) Article 1 definitions and principles. Article 1 contains general definitions and principles of construction and interpretation applicable throughout this article.
(Act 2001-481, p. 647, §1; Act 2004-315, p. 464, §2; Act 2014-374, p. 1339, §1; Act 2023-492, §1.)
Ala. Code § 7-9A-103 Purchase-Money Security Interest; Application of Payments; Burden of Establishing.
7-9A-103. Purchase-Money Security Interest; Application of Payments; Burden of Establishing.
(a) Definitions. In this section:
(1) “purchase-money collateral” means goods or software that secures a purchase-money obligation incurred with respect to that collateral; and
(2) “purchase-money obligation” means an obligation of an obligor incurred as all or part of the price of the collateral or for value given to enable the debtor to acquire rights in or the use of the collateral if the value is in fact so used.
(b) Purchase-money security interest in goods. A security interest in goods is a purchase-money security interest:
(1) to the extent that the goods are purchase-money collateral with respect to that security interest;
(2) if the security interest is in inventory that is or was purchase-money collateral, also to the extent that the security interest secures a purchase-money obligation incurred with respect to other inventory in which the secured party holds or held a purchase-money security interest; and
(3) also to the extent that the security interest secures a purchase-money obligation incurred with respect to software in which the secured party holds or held a purchase-money security interest.
(c) Purchase-money security interest in software. A security interest in software is a purchase-money security interest to the extent that the security interest also secures a purchase-money obligation incurred with respect to goods in which the secured party holds or held a purchase-money security interest if:
(1) the debtor acquired its interest in the software in an integrated transaction in which it acquired an interest in the goods; and
(2) the debtor acquired its interest in the software for the principal purpose of using the software in the goods.
(d) Consignor’s inventory purchase-money security interest. The security interest of a consignor in goods that are the subject of a consignment is a purchase-money security interest in inventory.
(e) Application of payment in non-consumer-goods transaction. In a transaction other than a consumer-goods transaction, if the extent to which a security interest is a purchase-money security interest depends on the application of a payment to a particular obligation, the payment must be applied:
(1) in accordance with any reasonable method of application to which the parties agree;
(2) in the absence of the parties’ agreement to a reasonable method, in accordance with any intention of the obligor manifested at or before the time of payment; or
(3) in the absence of an agreement to a reasonable method and a timely manifestation of the obligor’s intention, in the following order:
(A) to obligations that are not secured; and
(B) if more than one obligation is secured, to obligations secured by purchase-money security interests in the order in which those obligations were incurred.
(f) No loss of status of purchase-money security interest in non-consumer-goods transaction. In a transaction other than a consumer-goods transaction, a purchase-money security interest does not lose its status as such, even if:
(1) the purchase-money collateral also secures an obligation that is not a purchase-money obligation;
(2) collateral that is not purchase-money collateral also secures the purchase-money obligation; or
(3) the purchase-money obligation has been renewed, refinanced, consolidated, or restructured.
(g) Burden of proof in non-consumer-goods transaction. In a transaction other than a consumer-goods transaction, a secured party claiming a purchase-money security interest has the burden of establishing the extent to which the security interest is a purchase-money security interest.
(h) Non-consumer-goods transactions; no inference. The limitation of the rules in subsections (e), (f), and (g) to transactions other than consumer-goods transactions is intended to leave to the court the determination of the proper rules in consumer-goods transactions. The court may not infer from that limitation the nature of the proper rule in consumer-goods transactions and may continue to apply established approaches.
(Act 2001-481, p. 647, §1.)
Ala. Code § 7-9A-104 Control of Deposit Account.
7-9A-104. Control of Deposit Account.
(a) Requirements for control. A secured party has control of a deposit account if:
(1) the secured party is the bank with which the deposit account is maintained;
(2) the debtor, secured party, and bank have agreed in a signed record that the bank will comply with instructions originated by the secured party directing disposition of the funds in the deposit account without further consent by the debtor;
(3) the secured party becomes the bank’s customer with respect to the deposit account; or
(4) another person, other than the debtor:
(A) has control of the deposit account and acknowledges that it has control on behalf of the secured party; or
(B) obtains control of the deposit account after having acknowledged that it will obtain control of the deposit account on behalf of the secured party.
(b) Debtor’s right to direct disposition. A secured party that has satisfied subsection (a) has control, even if the debtor retains the right to direct the disposition of funds from the deposit account.
(Act 2001-481, p. 647, §1; Act 2023-492, §1.)
Ala. Code § 7-9A-105 Control of Electronic Chattel Paper.
7-9A-105. Control of Electronic Chattel Paper.
(a) General Rule: control of electronic copy of record evidencing chattel paper. A purchaser has control of an authoritative electronic copy of a record evidencing chattel paper if a system employed for evidencing the assignment of interests in the chattel paper reliably establishes the purchaser as the person to which the authoritative electronic copy was assigned.
(b) Single authoritative copy. A system satisfies subsection (a) if the record or records evidencing chattel paper are created, stored, and assigned in a manner that:
(1) a single authoritative copy of the record or records exists which is unique, identifiable, and, except as otherwise provided in paragraphs (4), (5), and (6), unalterable;
(2) the authoritative copy identifies the purchaser as the assignee of the record or records;
(3) the authoritative copy is communicated to and maintained by the purchaser or its designated custodian;
(4) copies or amendments that add or change an identified assignee of the authoritative copy can be made only with the consent of the purchaser;
(5) each copy of the authoritative copy and any copy of a copy is readily identifiable as a copy that is not the authoritative copy; and
(6) any amendment of the authoritative copy is readily identifiable as authorized or unauthorized.
(c) One or more authoritative copies. A system satisfies subsection (a), and a purchaser has control of an authoritative electronic copy of a record evidencing chattel paper, if the electronic copy, a record attached to or logically associated with the electronic copy, or a system in which the electronic copy is recorded:
(1) enables the purchaser readily to identify each electronic copy as either an authoritative copy or a nonauthoritative copy;
(2) enables the purchaser readily to identify itself in any way, including by name, identifying number, cryptographic key, office, or account number, as the assignee of the authoritative electronic copy; and
(3) gives the purchaser exclusive power, subject to subsection (d), to:
(A) prevent others from adding or changing an identified assignee of the authoritative electronic copy; and
(B) transfer control of the authoritative electronic copy.
(d) Meaning of exclusive. Subject to subsection (e), a power is exclusive under subsection (c)(3)(A) and (B) even if:
(1) the authoritative electronic copy, a record attached to or logically associated with the authoritative electronic copy, or a system in which the authoritative electronic copy is recorded limits the use of the authoritative electronic copy or has a protocol programmed to cause a change, including a transfer or loss of control; or
(2) the power is shared with another person.
(e) When power not shared with another person. A power of a purchaser is not shared with another person under subsection (d)(2) and the purchaser’s power is not exclusive if:
(1) the purchaser can exercise the power only if the power also is exercised by the other person; and
(2) the other person:
(A) can exercise the power without exercise of the power by the purchaser; or
(B) is the transferor to the purchaser of an interest in the chattel paper.
(f) Presumption of exclusivity of certain powers. If a purchaser has the powers specified in subsection (c)(3)(A) and (B), the powers are presumed to be exclusive.
(g) Obtaining control through another person. A purchaser has control of an authoritative electronic copy of a record evidencing chattel paper if another person, other than the transferor to the purchaser of an interest in the chattel paper:
(1) has control of the authoritative electronic copy and acknowledges that it has control on behalf of the purchaser; or
(2) obtains control of the authoritative electronic copy after having acknowledged that it will obtain control of the electronic copy on behalf of the purchaser.
(Act 2001-481, p. 647, §1; Act 2014-374, p. 1339, §1; Act 2023-492, §1.)
Ala. Code § 7-9A-106 Control of Investment Property.
7-9A-106. Control of Investment Property.
(a) Control under Section 7-8-106. A person has control of a certificated security, uncertificated security, or security entitlement as provided in Section 7-8-106.
(b) Control of commodity contract. A secured party has control of a commodity contract if:
(1) the secured party is the commodity intermediary with which the commodity contract is carried; or
(2) the commodity customer, secured party, and commodity intermediary have agreed that the commodity intermediary will apply any value distributed on account of the commodity contract as directed by the secured party without further consent by the commodity customer.
(c) Effect of control of securities account or commodity account. A secured party having control of all security entitlements or commodity contracts carried in a securities account or commodity account has control over the securities account or commodity account.
(Act 2001-481, p. 647, §1.)
Ala. Code § 7-9A-107 Control of Letter-of-Credit Right.
7-9A-107. Control of Letter-of-Credit Right.
A secured party has control of a letter-of-credit right to the extent of any right to payment or performance by the issuer or any nominated person if the issuer or nominated person has consented to an assignment of proceeds of the letter of credit under Section 7-5-114(c) or otherwise applicable law or practice.
(Act 2001-481, p. 647, §1.)
Ala. Code § 7-9A-107A Control of Controllable Electronic Record, Controllable Account, or Controllable Payment Intangible.
7-9A-107A. Control of Controllable Electronic Record, Controllable Account, or Controllable Payment Intangible.
(a) Control under Section 7-12-105. A secured party has control of a controllable electronic record as provided in Section 7-12-105.
(b) Control of controllable account and controllable payment intangible. A secured party has control of a controllable account or controllable payment intangible if the secured party has control of the controllable electronic record that evidences the controllable account or controllable payment intangible.
(Act 2023-492, §2.)
Ala. Code § 7-9A-107B No Requirement to Acknowledge or Confirm; No Duties.
7-9A-107B. No Requirement to Acknowledge or Confirm; No Duties.
(a) No requirement to acknowledge. A person that has control under Section 7-9A-104, or 7-9A-105, is not required to acknowledge that it has control on behalf of another person.
(b) No duties or confirmation. If a person acknowledges that it has or will obtain control on behalf of another person, unless the person otherwise agrees or law other than this article otherwise provides, the person does not owe any duty to the other person and is not required to confirm the acknowledgment to any other person.
(Act 2023-492, §2.)
Ala. Code § 7-9A-108 Sufficiency of Description.
7-9A-108. Sufficiency of Description.
(a) Sufficiency of description. Except as otherwise provided in subsections (c), (d), and (e), a description of personal or real property is sufficient, whether or not it is specific, if it reasonably identifies what is described.
(b) Examples of reasonable identification. Except as otherwise provided in subsection (d), a description of collateral reasonably identifies the collateral if it identifies the collateral by:
(1) specific listing;
(2) category;
(3) except as otherwise provided in subsection (e), a type of collateral defined in the Uniform Commercial Code;
(4) quantity;
(5) computational or allocational formula or procedure; or
(6) except as otherwise provided in subsection (c), any other method, if the identity of the collateral is objectively determinable.
(c) Supergeneric description not sufficient. A description of collateral as “all the debtor’s assets” or “all the debtor’s personal property” or using words of similar import does not reasonably identify the collateral.
(d) Investment property. Except as otherwise provided in subsection (e), a description of a security entitlement, securities account, or commodity account is sufficient if it describes:
(1) the collateral by those terms or as investment property; or
(2) the underlying financial asset or commodity contract.
(e) When description by type insufficient. A description only by type of collateral defined in the Uniform Commercial Code is an insufficient description of:
(1) a commercial tort claim; or
(2) in a consumer transaction, consumer goods, a security entitlement, a securities account, or a commodity account.
(Act 2001-481, p. 647, §1.)
Source: Alabama Legislature (alison.legislature.state.al.us)URL: https://alison.legislature.state.al.us/code-of-alabamaFetched: 10/20/2026