recourse

views updated Jun 11 2018

re·course / ˈrēˌkôrs; riˈkôrs/ • n. [in sing.] a source of help in a difficult situation: surgery may be the only recourse. ∎  (recourse to) the use of someone or something as a source of help in a difficult situation: a means of solving disputes without recourse to courts of law all three countries had recourse to the IMF for standby loans. ∎  the legal right to demand compensation or payment: the bank has recourse against the exporter for losses incurred.PHRASES: without recourse Finance a formula used to disclaim responsibility for future nonpayment, esp. of a negotiable financial instrument.

Recourse

views updated May 09 2018

RECOURSE

The right of an individual who is holding acommercial paper, such as a check or promissory note, to receive payment on it from anyone who has signed it if the individual who originally made it is unable, or refuses, to tender payment.

Recourse is the right of the holder to recover against a prior endorser, who is secondarily liable. When a check is endorsed without recourse, it signifies that the endorser will not be liable to pay in the event that payment is refused.

recourse

views updated May 29 2018

recourse †return; †course, movement; resort to a person or thing XIV; means resorted to XV. — (O)F. recours — L. recursus, f. recurs-, pp. stem of recurrere run or turn back, resort (see RECUR).

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