definition of "paid"

Can someone tell me where i can find a legal definition of "PAID"

Has a payer been deamed to have paid when he has:
* written out the cheque
* posted the cheque
* allowed ? time after posting
or
* when the payee receives the cheque
* when the cheque is banked
* when the cheque has cleared

I could go on and on....

In the absence of a legal expert stepping in, here's an opinion based on a number of contracts and what I remember of a colleague's first-year law studies:

Firstly, I don't think there is a single clear legal definition of "paid". That is why, in numerous contracts, there are clauses stating that "a communication (or payment) shall be deemed to be served (or paid) when ... [insert clauses about whether there's registered delivery, posting dates, hand-delivery, etc.]" The very fact that large client contracts have to lay it out explicitly implies that there is not a single clear understanding of the term.

Secondly, my recollection from long revision sessions with a first-year lawyer is that there is an expectation of each party to fulfil their duty to pay to the extent that it is their responsibility. So, for instance, in the case of a BACS payment, I would expect that the client would be deemed to have paid when they had instructed their bank to make the payment, as it is then committed to an automatic payment process that is not their responsibility (although try that for a Council Tax bill and see where it gets you!) With a cheque, the result would be even less clear - but because the "payment process" is not underway until you have received and cashed the cheque, I would expect it to be considered "paid" upon receipt, rather than upon posting (hence the importance of registered delivery if your clients are troublesome). HOWEVER, this interpretation might be invalidated by the "Postal Rule" of Contract Law (see en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Posting_rule ), which says that contracts and agreements made by post are binding as of posting.

In short, if you want a definitive answer that you can lean on when taking a client to task, you need a lawyer.

Could you explain the reason for asking? There may be other details that matter in addition to when an invoice is "paid".

In plain English

Paid means that the debtor has the ability to use the FULL funds.

Eg. Paid is the point that funds have cleared your account and you are able to oay other people...This is the FULL invoice amount... part payment is NOT paid.

So from your list...
* written out the cheque - NO
* posted the cheque- NO
* allowed ? time after posting- NO
or
* when the payee receives the cheque- NO
* when the cheque is banked- NO
* when the cheque has cleared YES

It would be nice if that were the case. However, unless you know otherwise, I suspect that "plain English" understanding is not necessarily what counts in the Contract.