N.D. Cent. Code § 47-30.2-58: (1005) Evidence of unpaid debt or undischarged obligation

1.A record of a putative holder showing an unpaid debt or undischarged obligation is prima facie evidence of the debt or obligation.

2.A putative holder may establish by a preponderance of the evidence that there is no unpaid debt or undischarged obligation for a debt or obligation described in subsection 1 or that the debt or obligation was not, or no longer is, a fixed and certain obligation of the putative holder.

3.A putative holder may overcome prima facie evidence under subsection 1 by establishing by a preponderance of the evidence that a check, draft, or similar instrument was:

a.Issued as an unaccepted offer in settlement of an unliquidated amount;

b.Issued but later was replaced with another instrument because the earlier instrument was lost or contained an error that was corrected;

c.Issued to a party affiliated with the issuer;

d.Paid, satisfied, or discharged;

e.Issued in error;

f.Issued without consideration;

g.Issued but there was a failure of consideration;

h.Voided not later than ninety days after issuance for a valid business reason set forth in a contemporaneous record; or

i.Issued but not delivered to the third-party payee for a sufficient reason recorded within a reasonable time after issuance.

4.In asserting a defense under this section, a putative holder may present evidence of a course of dealing between the putative holder and the apparent owner or of custom and practice.