Okla. Stat. tit. 12A § 5-101
This article shall be known and may be cited as Uniform Commercial Code - Letters of Credit.
Okla. Stat. tit. 12A, § 5-101
Oklahoma Code Comment
Oklahoma has had little previous law on Letters of Credit. Former 15 O.S. §§ 401-409 on Letters of Credit were very sketchy, and did not purport to govern letters of credit with the particularity of the Commercial Code. The legal theory of the former statutes was much more similar to a "guaranty" than to a true letter of credit transaction, and former 6 O.S. §407 spoke of a letter of credit as "a continuing guaranty." Therefore, a comparison of previous Oklahoma law with the Commercial Code is not profitable beyond the statement that the two are completely different in principle and detail.
Oklahoma has but two previous cases on letters of credit. In reality there is but one, for in McLaughlin v. Lagers, 99 Okl. 155, 225 P. 920 (1924) the agreement had all the attributes of a guaranty, and none of the characteristics of a letter of credit. In the second, Liberty National Bank and Trust Co. v. Bank of America, C.A., 218 F.2d 831 (1955), the basis of the decision was upon estoppel rather than letters of credit principles.
The Commercial Code is principally a restatement of the prevailing law on letters of credit in the United States. The Commercial Code, however, does not purport to govern all the details of letters of credit. Its purpose is simply to establish the framework within which custom, usage and existing and future decisions will operate.
Since Oklahoma has little previous authority on letters of credit, and since the Commercial Code establishes only a general framework, a detailed analysis will not be undertaken, but only a few comments which may be helpful in explaining the purpose and objectives of the provisions will be made.