HRS §490:4-103
Changing bank rules by agreement and what counts as careful handling
This section lets parties change most rules in this article by agreement, but they cannot waive a bank's duty to act in good faith or use ordinary care, nor cap damages for failing to do so. Federal Reserve rules and clearing-house rules act like agreements. Following approved rules or general banking usage is considered ordinary care, and damages for carelessness are limited to the item's value minus what could not have been recovered.
financial institutions
The statute, as written — Variation by agreement; measure of damages; action constituting ordinary care
(a) The effect of the provisions of this article may be varied by agreement, but the parties to the agreement cannot disclaim a bank's responsibility for its lack of good faith or failure to exercise ordinary care or limit the measure of damages for the lack or failure. However, the parties may determine by agreement the standards by which the bank's responsibility is to be measured if those standards are not manifestly unreasonable. (b) Federal Reserve regulations and operating circulars, clearing-house rules, and the like have the effect of agreements under subsection (a), whether or not specifically assented to by all parties interested in items handled. (c) Action or nonaction approved by this article or pursuant to Federal Reserve regulations or operating circulars is the exercise of ordinary care and, in the absence of special instructions, action or nonaction consistent with clearing-house rules and the like or with a general banking usage not disapproved by this article, is prima facie the exercise of ordinary care. (d) The specification or approval of certain procedures by this article is not disapproval of other procedures that may be reasonable under the circumstances. (e) The measure of damages for failure to exercise ordinary care in handling an item is the amount of the item reduced by an amount that could not have been realized by the exercise of ordinary care. If there is also bad faith it includes any other damages the party suffered as a proximate consequence.
LawTrove is not legal advice. The summary above is a computer-generated restatement — the authoritative text is the official version linked above.