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§ 8.01-465.14.Definitions.

Chapter 17.3. Uniform Foreign-money Claims Act · Last amended 1991 · Last verified July 16, 2026

In one sentenceThis section defines the vocabulary the rest of Chapter 17.3 depends on, including “foreign money,” “foreign-money claim,” “conversion date,” “spot rate,” and “money of the claim,” so later sections can specify precisely when and at what exchange rate a claim denominated in another currency gets converted to dollars.

Full Text of § 8.01-465.14

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As used in this chapter:
"Action" means a judicial proceeding or arbitration in which a payment in money may be awarded or enforced with respect to a foreign-money claim.
"Bank-offered spot rate" means the spot rate of exchange at which a bank will sell foreign money at a spot rate.
"Conversion date" means the banking day next preceding the date on which money, in accordance with this chapter, is (i) paid to a claimant in an action or distribution proceeding; (ii) paid to the official designated by law to enforce a judgment or award on behalf of a claimant; or (iii) used to recoup, set off, or counterclaim in different moneys in an action or distribution proceeding.
"Distribution proceeding" means a judicial or nonjudicial proceeding for the distribution of a fund in which one or more foreign-money claims are asserted and includes an accounting, an assignment for the benefit of creditors, a foreclosure, the liquidation or rehabilitation of a corporation or other entity, and the distribution of an estate, trust, or other fund.
"Foreign money" means money other than money of the United States of America.
"Foreign-money claim" means a claim upon an obligation to pay, or a claim for recovery of a loss, expressed in or measured by a foreign money.
"Money" means a medium of exchange for the payment of obligations or a store of value authorized or adopted by a government or by intergovernmental agreement.
"Money of the claim" means the money determined as proper pursuant to § 8.01-465.17.
"Person" means an individual, a corporation, government or governmental subdivision or agency, business trust, estate, trust, joint venture, partnership, association, two or more persons having a joint or common interest, or any other legal or commercial entity.
"Rate of exchange" means the rate at which money of one country may be converted into money of another country in a free financial market convenient to or reasonably usable by a person obligated to pay or to state a rate of conversion. If separate rates of exchange apply to different kinds of transactions, the term means the rate applicable to the particular transaction giving rise to the foreign-money claim.
"Spot rate" means the rate of exchange at which foreign money is sold by a bank or other dealer in foreign exchange for immediate or next day availability or for settlement by immediate payment in cash or equivalent, by charge to an account, or by an agreed delayed settlement not exceeding two days.
"State" means a state of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or a territory or insular possession subject to the jurisdiction of the United States.

Plain-English Summary

Litigating a claim expressed in another currency raises questions ordinary civil practice never has to answer: which currency governs, when does conversion happen, and at what rate. This section supplies the terms that let the rest of the chapter answer those questions with precision rather than guesswork.

Some definitions mark what makes a claim foreign-money in the first place — “foreign money” is money other than United States money, and a “foreign-money claim” is a claim on an obligation to pay, or for recovery of a loss, expressed in or measured by that foreign money. Others supply the exchange-rate mechanics: “rate of exchange” is the rate applicable in a free financial market convenient to the party who owes payment or must state a conversion rate, “spot rate” narrows that to near-immediate settlement, and “bank-offered spot rate” narrows it further to what a bank itself will sell foreign money for.

Timing gets its own definition too. The “conversion date” is tied to real events — the banking day before money is paid to a claimant or an enforcing official, or used to offset a claim — rather than to an arbitrary point like the filing date. And procedural terms like “action,” “distribution proceeding,” “person,” and “state” set the outer boundaries of where and to whom the chapter applies.

Every later section in Chapter 17.3 leans on this vocabulary, from how a court identifies the money of a claim in § 8.01-465.17 to how a judgment gets entered and paid in § 8.01-465.20.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is “foreign money” under this chapter?

Money other than money of the United States of America.

What is a “foreign-money claim”?

A claim upon an obligation to pay, or a claim for recovery of a loss, expressed in or measured by a foreign money.

What is the “conversion date”?

The banking day next preceding the date money is paid to a claimant or to an official designated to enforce a judgment or award, or used to recoup, set off, or counterclaim in different moneys.

What is the difference between “spot rate” and “bank-offered spot rate”?

“Spot rate” is the rate a bank or dealer sells foreign money for near-immediate settlement, while “bank-offered spot rate” refers specifically to the rate at which a bank will sell foreign money at a spot rate.

What is a “distribution proceeding”?

A judicial or nonjudicial proceeding for distributing a fund in which one or more foreign-money claims are asserted, including an accounting, an assignment for the benefit of creditors, a foreclosure, the liquidation or rehabilitation of a corporation or other entity, and the distribution of an estate, trust, or other fund.

Amendment History

1991, c. 24.

Source & verification. Section text and amendment history are reproduced verbatim from the Code of Virginia, published by the Code of Virginia, Virginia Division of Legislative Automated Systems. Last verified July 16, 2026. · Official source
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