Also known as: in the regular course of business · ordinary course of business
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A standard of conduct or activity that conforms to the usual or customary practices of a particular business or entity.
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Metro Strikers FC purchased used strength machines from Iron Peak Gym after inspecting them on site. Iron Peak regularly sold older equipment to teams as part of its operations. The club paid a reasonable price and took immediate possession without knowledge that the transaction violated any lender rights. The purchase qualified under the ordinary-course standard, allowing the club to retain the machines free of the prior security interest.
Saul arranged additional field rentals and coaching staff for the youth camp partnership after observing high demand. The expenditures occurred during the regular season and directly supported increased enrollment. A camper later suffered injury, leading to a settlement exceeding revenues. The partnership faced liability because the partner's conduct occurred within the ordinary course of camp operations.
Caroline received a subpoena for maintenance logs at the wind farm. She produced the records exactly as stored in the company's electronic system without reorganization. The logs reflected the routine inspection schedule maintained during daily operations. This method satisfied the requirement to produce documents as kept in the ordinary course.
Bridge Hotels sold surplus reservation-system equipment to a maritime buyer as part of routine upgrades. The transaction followed the hotel's established practice of disposing of older gear during seasonal renovations. No shareholder vote occurred because the sale stayed within the usual and regular course of hotel operations.
Abigail and Victoria voted to adjust camp pricing mid-season after demand increased. The change addressed ordinary operational needs without altering the partnership agreement itself. Saul objected but could not block the decision because the matter fell within the ordinary course of camp business.
Valley Realty mortgaged its apartment complexes to secure an operating loan from Liberty Buildings. The financing supported routine property management expenses and did not require shareholder approval. The encumbrance remained valid regardless of whether it occurred in the usual course of business.
The buyer must purchase goods in good faith without actual knowledge that the sale violates another's rights, from a person in the business of selling goods of that kind, and in a manner consistent with the seller's usual practices. The buyer must also take possession or obtain a right to recover the goods. These requirements appear across multiple secured-transactions questions testing UCC § 9-320 and the definition in § 1-201.
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…official or business records, and even if they did, their authors would be subject to confrontation nonetheless. Documents kept in the regular course of business may ordinarily be admitted at trial despite their hearsay status. See Fed. Rule Evid. 803(6). But that is not the case if the regularly conducted business activity is the production of…
…1936, 49 Stat. 1561, 28 U. S. C. § 695.[^maj-1] They offered to prove (in the language of the Act) that the statement was signed in the regular course of business, it being the regular
…As applied to a scientific report, Melendez-Diaz explained that pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 803, “[d]ocuments kept in the regular course of business
…Civil Practice Act. Under modern conditions the limitations upon the right to use books of account, memoranda or records made in the regular course of business
…bank to the El Paso bank. There was substantial evidence to show that the check was mailed from Texas to California, in the ordinary course of business
A partnership is liable when the partner acts in the ordinary course of partnership business or with actual or apparent authority. The standard turns on whether the conduct aligns with the partnership's routine operations rather than extraordinary steps. This rule is tested in partnership accounting and liability questions.
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Shareholder approval is not required for a sale, lease, or other disposition of assets that occurs in the usual and regular course of business. The same rule does not apply to encumbrances, which may occur regardless of ordinary-course status. These distinctions are examined in corporate governance questions.
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The responding party may produce documents as they are kept in the ordinary course of business or organize and label them to match the categories in the demand. This option avoids the need for custom reorganization when records already follow routine business practices.
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A difference on a matter in the ordinary course of partnership business may be decided by majority vote. Acts outside the ordinary course or amendments to the agreement require unanimous consent. The distinction determines whether a single partner can bind the others without full agreement.
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