Blank Check

What does Blank Check mean in American Law?

The definition of Blank Check in the law of the United States, as defined by the lexicographer Arthur Leff in his legal dictionary is:

A check signed, but with the payee, or amount, or both, left blank. This is obviously a dangerous thing to do, for the drawee of the check is entitled to pay whatever amount is filled in, leaving the drawer only the holder of the check to go against if a fraudulently or mistakenly excessive amount is filled in. Blank deeds are also sometimes (but one hopes rarely) executed and delivered. The expression “gave a blank check” has come to mean “left everything (especially spending decisions) to the recipient”s discretion,” as in “He made him president of the subsidiary and gave him a blank check to clean up the mess.”