a) A record of a person subject to examination showing an unpaid debt or undischarged obligation is prima facie evidence of the debt or obligation. [ 765 ILCS 1026/15-1005(a) ]
b) A person subject to examination may establish by a preponderance of the evidence that there is no unpaid debt or undischarged obligation for a debt or obligation or that the debt or obligation was not, or no longer is, a fixed and certain obligation of the person subject to examination. [ 765 ILCS 1026/15-1005(b) ] Thus, the prima facie evidence may be rebutted by the person subject to examination.
c) A person subject to examination may overcome prima facie evidence by establishing by a preponderance of the evidence that a check, draft, or similar instrument was:
1)
issued as an
unaccepted offer in settlement of an unliquidated amount;
2)
issued but later was replaced with
another instrument because the earlier instrument was lost or contained an
error that was corrected;
3)
issued to a party affiliated with
the issuer;
4)
paid, satisfied, or discharged;
6)
issued
without consideration;
7)
issued but there was a failure of consideration;
8)
voided not later than 90 days
after issuance for a valid business reason set forth in a contemporaneous
record;
A) for purposes of this
provision "valid business reason" does not include a policy of voiding
outstanding checks, drafts, or similar instruments after a specified number of
days;
B) a policy of automatically
voiding would be tantamount to a private escheat law in violation of
longstanding public policy in Illinois (see People ex rel. Callahan v. Marshall
Field & Co., 83 Ill. App. 3d 811, 818, 404 N.E.2d 368, 374
(1980));
C) this defense merely
indicates that when a check, draft, or similar instrument is voided quickly
for a valid business reason (i.e., not as a private escheat law), and the
reason is indicated in a contemporaneous record, there is sufficient evidence
to overcome the prima facie evidence of the existence of a debt or obligation
or
