Also known as: assignment of rights · delegation of duties · assignment · delegation · novation
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see 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.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
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.
The 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…