The Law Library



Commercial Law and the Uniform Code

by Kelly Kunsch

Introduction

The topic of commercial law encompasses the rules for sale and distribution of goods and the procedures for payment in such transactions. Modern U.S. commercial law is derived from the 17th century principles of the law merchant. Those principles were initially incorporated into the common law before becoming codified into individual state statutes.

Early American legislation lacked consistency between the states. By the end of the 19th century, legal professionals recognized the need for uniformity in certain areas of law. Due to growing interstate commerce, one of those areas was commerical law. The National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws was created and it passed a Uniform Negotiable Instruments Act followed by a Uniform Sales Act. Unfortunately, those acts were not universally adopted. By the mid-20th century, the National Conference joined with the American Law Institute to draft a Uniform Commercial Code that would be widely enacted by the states. The UCC was first published in 1952 and has been revised many times since then. New articles have also been added over the years.

About this Research Guide

This research guide is not intended to be comprehensive, but rather will list some of the major sources of law in the area and a variety of tools for the researcher to use when confronted with a commercial law issue. Links in this research guide will take the researcher to information about the resource, and in some cases, will link to full text of the resource. The titles of materials held in the Seattle University Law Library are linked to the bibliographic records in the library's catalogs. The title or citation for Web-based materials will be linked to the internet site where those materials or information about them may be found. Citations to materials that are available on Westlaw, Lexis, or other databases, including cases, statutes, and law review articles of interest, may be linked to their source in one of those databases, and if so, will be available only to authorized users.

Statutes

Over time, major portions of the UCC have been enacted in all 50 states. There may be variations in the text enacted by a particular state so attorneys and law students should check state statutes when necessary. A table at the beginning of each uniform law published in Uniform Laws Annotated gives citations to the adopting state codes. Additionally, the Legal Information Institute at Cornell University publishes a Uniform Commercial Code Locator that links to individual state statutes corresponding to Articles of the UCC. The text of the UCC itself can be found in Uniform Laws Annotated and online at Cornell University.

The State of Washington's adaptation of the UCC is located in the Revised Code of Washington, RCW Title 62A.

Books

For a general overview:

For a more detailed treatment:

For practice-oriented treatment:

For Washington specific treatment:

Subject Headings (for additional materials):

  • Commercial Law--United States
  • Commercial Law--Washington (State)

Periodical Articles

Law reviews and journals reflect the latest thinking on topical issues. Over a thousand are published in the United States and the Law Library receives almost all of them. Abbreviations abound in this area so it is best to ask for help at the law library reference desk. Periodicals are located on the Court level which is reached by the elevator inside the library. Washington state periodicals, such as the Seattle University Law Review, are located in Reserve. To find articles on particular topics, use either online index, LegalTrac or Index to Legal Periodicals. Both titles offer indexes by author, title, subject, case, and statute. for law school students, both services are available on Lexis and Westlaw. Two major law journals are devoted entirely to commercial law issues. They are:

Cases

Cases can be found in the Uniform Commercial Code Reporting Service, Reserve KF879.518.45 (accessed by its Digest). They can also be found in Westlaw (database: UCC-CS) and in Lexis (library: UCC; file: Mega). Both services can be limited to find cases only in particular jurisdictions. Cases can also be found using the annotated code for the desired state. Multistate annotations are available in Uniform Laws Annotated.

Forms

Forms are printed in volumes 4 and 5 of Uniform Laws Annotated and in the various form books shelved at Reserve KF 170. Washington forms are reproduced in the Washington Commercial Law Deskbook and in volumes 7 and 8 of Washington Practice. Some Washington forms can also be downloaded from the Department of Licensing Web site.

Web Sites

The Web site at the University of Pennsylvania, in conjunction with the National Conference of Commisioners, contains drafts and final acts of uniform laws.

The National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws Web site contains organizational information and current information on selected uniform acts. The University of Pennsylvania site (listed above) contains most of the documents themselves. It also provides a brief explanation of the National Conference's purpose, history and procedures.

The Legal Information Institute at Cornell University contains a topic guide for commercial law.

Commercial Law Subtopics

Secured Transactions (SU Law Library Starting Points Research Guide).

Last Updated: May 2009

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