Also known as: delegates · delegated · delegating · delegation · delegations · delegatee · delegatees · delegator · delegators
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
To transfer authority or duty so that one party empowers another to perform an obligation or exercise a power. The delegating party remains liable unless the obligee agrees otherwise. Delegation is permitted unless barred by contract terms, public policy, or a substantial interest in personal performance.
Daphne Doyle contracts with Delta Dynamics to install specialized machinery. Daphne later arranges for David Dawson to perform the installation. Delta Dynamics accepts the substitute performance without objection, yet Daphne remains liable if the work is defective.
Congress enacts a statute directing an agency to set emission standards for factories. The statute supplies an intelligible principle guiding the agency's discretion. A manufacturer challenges the resulting rule as an invalid delegation of legislative power.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Dixon Foods agrees to sell goods to Dakota Industries. Dixon later directs Davenport Pharmaceuticals to make the delivery. Dakota accepts the goods but later sues Dixon when defects appear because the delegation does not relieve Dixon of its original duty.
Dorothy Daniels serves as trustee of a family trust requiring prudent investment decisions. She selects an investment advisor after reviewing the advisor's qualifications and sets clear investment guidelines. Dorothy periodically reviews the advisor's reports to confirm compliance with the trust terms.
Diego Duarte executes a power of attorney naming Dwight Dorsey as agent. Dwight later appoints a subagent to handle routine banking tasks. The subagent's actions are treated as Dwight's own under the original grant of authority.
A state enacts a law regulating local education standards. The federal government claims exclusive authority over the subject. The court holds that because the Constitution does not delegate education regulation to the United States, the power remains with the state.
No. The delegating party remains liable for performance unless the obligee expressly agrees to a novation or discharge. Both the Restatement and UCC expressly preserve the delegator's liability after delegation.
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A contract may prohibit delegation when the obligee has a substantial interest in having the original promisor perform or when delegation would materially change the duty or increase risk. Language prohibiting assignment of the contract is construed to bar only delegation of duties.
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A trustee may delegate duties a prudent trustee could properly delegate. The trustee must exercise reasonable care in selecting the agent, defining the scope of delegation, and periodically reviewing the agent's performance.
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The Tenth Amendment reserves to the states or the people powers not delegated to the United States. It does not prevent Congress from delegating authority to federal agencies when an intelligible principle guides the delegation.
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…processes, sometimes in ways that threaten the integrity of the law and of the decisional process. "District courts have delegated more and more of their tasks to magistrates . . . . Time for oral argument is steadily cut back . . . . [T]he practice of delivering written opinions is declining. "..... ". . .…