Also known as: assignment of rights · delegation of duties · assignment · delegation · novation
Written by attorneys — see sources below.
A transfer of a contractual right by which the obligee manifests an intention to transfer the right to another person without further action by the obligee. The manifestation may be made orally or in writing to the assignee or a third person. Duties may be delegated when consistent with the purposes and terms of the underlying obligation or trust.
Adrian Aguilar holds a license to cross Alpine Mining land to reach his cabin. Without any writing or ceremony, Adrian tells Artemis Logistics he is transferring the license to it so the company can haul timber. Alpine Mining accepts performance by Artemis and raises no objection to the lack of formalities.
Aurora Biotech serves as trustee of a research fund. It delegates investment decisions to Apex Dynamics after defining the exact assets, risk limits, and reporting schedule in a written instrument that matches the trust purposes. The delegation document sets clear boundaries so Apex knows precisely what actions it may take.
Anita Ali holds a right to payment from Aaron Adams under a consulting contract. Anita emails Aaron that she is transferring the payment right to Alexandra Armstrong and directs him to pay Alexandra instead. Aaron receives the notice and begins making payments to Alexandra without further action by Anita.
Andre Antoine, trustee of a family trust, delegates tax preparation to Albert Allen. Every quarter Andre reviews Albert's filings, compares them to trust records, and confirms compliance with the delegation terms. When Albert misses a deadline, Andre immediately corrects the filing and adjusts future instructions.
Two cotrustees of a closely held business trust are expected by the settlor to approve major investments together. One cotrustee attempts to delegate the approval power to the other. The attempted delegation is ineffective because the settlor intended joint performance of that function.
A liability insurer agrees to defend its policyholder against a lawsuit. The insurer arranges for outside counsel to handle the defense while retaining final settlement authority. The policyholder accepts the arrangement and the insurer remains responsible for the outcome of the delegated defense work.
Mr. and Mrs. Comunale were struck in a marked pedestrian crosswalk by a truck driven by Percy Sloan. Mr. Comunale was seriously injured, and his wife suffered minor injuries. Sloan was insured by defendant Traders and General Insurance Company under a policy that contained limits of liability in the sum of $10,000 for each person injured and $20,000 for each accident. Sloan notified Traders of the accident and was told that the policy did not provide coverage because he was driving a truck that did not belong to him. When the Comunales filed suit against Sloan, Traders refused to defend the action, and Sloan employed competent counsel to represent him. On the second day of the trial Sloan informed Traders that the Comunales would compromise the case for $4,000, that he did not have enough money to effect the settlement, and that it was highly probable the jury would return a verdict in excess of the policy limits. Traders refused, and the trial proceeded to judgment in favor of Mr. Comunale for $25,000 and Mrs. Comunale for $1,250. Sloan did not pay the judgment, and the Comunales sued Traders under a provision in the policy that permitted an injured party to maintain an action after obtaining judgment against the insured. In that suit judgment was rendered in favor of Mr. Comunale for $10,000 and in favor of Mrs. Comunale for $1,250. This judgment was satisfied by Traders after it was affirmed in Comunale v. Traders & General Ins. Co., 116 Cal.App.2d 198 [253 P.2d 495]. Comunale obtained an assignment of all of Sloan's rights against Traders and then commenced the present action to recover from Traders the portion of his judgment against Sloan which was in excess of the policy limits. The jury returned a verdict in Comunale's favor, but the trial court entered a judgment for Traders notwithstanding the verdict.
View caseThe obligee must manifest an intention to transfer the right to another person without needing further action by the obligee. The manifestation may be oral or written and may be made to the assignee or a third person.
A trustee may delegate duties a prudent trustee could properly delegate. The trustee must select the agent with reasonable care, establish the scope and terms of the delegation consistent with the trust purposes, and periodically review the agent's performance.
No formalities are essential to the assignment of a license unless the license is coupled with an interest in a chattel or the authorized use can be made only in connection with other land.
A trustee may not delegate to a cotrustee the performance of a function the settlor reasonably expected the trustees to perform jointly. A delegation that is not irrevocable may be revoked by the delegating trustee.
…holding that the complainants had failed to establish their right to specific performance, and dismissing their bill. The assignment of error is to this action of the court. W. O. Lucy, a lumberman and farmer, thus testified in substance: He had known Zehmer for fifteen or twenty years and had been familiar with the…