Current through the 2024 legislative session
Section 1-1-115 - Civil liability for unpaid checks(a) Any person who issues a check which is not paid because the check has been dishonored for any reason has thirty (30) days following the date of a written demand mailed to the drawer of the check by United States postal service certificate of mailing at the address shown on the check or his last known address or personally served pursuant to the Wyoming Rules of Civil Procedure, to pay to the holder of the check the amount of the check and a collection fee not to exceed thirty dollars ($30.00). The demand shall state that the drawer is required to pay the value of the check and the collection fee demanded and shall state the collection fee provided for in this section.(b) Any person who fails to pay the amount of the check and the collection fee as set forth in subsection (a) of this section within thirty (30) days following the date of a written demand, mailed to or served on the drawer in accordance with subsection (a) of this section, is liable to the holder of the check for three (3) times the amount of the check, but in no case less than one hundred dollars ($100.00), a collection fee of thirty dollars ($30.00), and court costs.(c) In extraordinary cases, including cases in which the court determines that the party who wrote the check has raised dilatory or bad faith defenses, the court may award the prevailing party reasonable attorney fees.(d) Nothing in this section shall prevent the criminal prosecution of the person who issues the check. However, any payment made by the defendant to a victim pursuant to an order for restitution entered in a criminal case pursuant to W.S. 7-9-101 through 7-9-112 or 6-3-704(b), shall be set off against any judgment in favor of the victim in a civil action brought under this section arising out of the same facts or event.(e) A cause of action under this section may be brought in small claims court, if the amount of the demand does not exceed the jurisdiction of that court, or in any other appropriate court.(f) As used in this section, "check," "drawee," "drawer" and "issue" have the same meaning as defined in W.S. 6-3-701.