joint check rule
joint-check rule. The principle that, when an owner or general contractor issues a check that is made jointly payable to a subcontractor and the subcontractor’s materialman, the materialman’s indorsement on the check certifies that it has been paid all amounts due to it, up to the amount of the check. • This rule protects the owner or general contractor from lien foreclosure by a materialman who was not paid by the subcontractor. By issuing a joint check, the owner or general contractor is not left merely to hope that the subcontractor pays all the materialmen. And the materialman is protected because it can refuse to indorse the check until it is satisfied that the subcontractor will pay it the appropriate amount. [Cases: Mechanics’ Liens 240. C.J.S. Mechanics’ Liens §§ 277, 286–287.]
