Also known as: assignment · alienation · assign · alienate · assigned · alienated · assigning · alienating · assignments · alienations · transfer of interest · conveyance
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
Any direct or indirect arrangement by which one party acquires from another an interest in property or benefits that is enforceable against the transferor.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Antonio Alvarado assigned his purchase contract for a commercial parcel to Aisha Ahmed before closing. After taking title, Aisha discovered that the seller had concealed a structural defect. Because the assignment transferred an independent right to pursue fraud, Aisha could enforce the claim even though the original contract had merged into the deed.
Alexandra Armstrong assigned the remainder of her leasehold to Amber Alonzo. When the lease term ended, Amber remained in possession without the landlord's consent and without claiming superior title. Amber's continued occupancy created an estate at sufferance arising from the prior assignment.
Anika Anand assigned her state-law breach-of-contract claim against a supplier to Atlas Ventures. Atlas then filed for bankruptcy and sought to have the claim resolved in the bankruptcy court. The assignment could not route the private dispute to a non-Article III tribunal without violating constitutional limits on judicial power.
Ariana Azizi orally directed her obligor to pay future receivables to Anchor Bank. The direction manifested a present intention to transfer the right without further action by Ariana. The oral assignment was effective because no writing was required by statute or contract.
Apex Dynamics leased property to Azure Solutions under a clause requiring tenant consent to any assignment by the landlord. When Apex sought to sell its reversion, Azure could not withhold consent unreasonably. The restraint was valid only because it incorporated a reasonableness standard.
Atlas Ventures conveyed subdivided lots subject to a recorded declaration imposing use restrictions. The conveyance manifested intent to create servitudes binding future owners. The restrictions arose automatically upon the transfer because the declaration complied with the statute of frauds.
Any direct or indirect arrangement by which a party acquires from a participant or beneficiary an interest enforceable against the plan qualifies as an assignment or alienation. A testamentary transfer of community-property rights in retirement benefits meets this definition and is prohibited by statutory anti-alienation provisions.
Supporting sources
…issue a mandamus to such an officer it must be because the law is unconstitutional and incapable of conferring the authority and assigning the duties which its words purport to confer and assign. The Constitution vests the whole judicial power in one supreme court and such inferior courts as Congress shall ordain and…