Also known as: chose in action · choses in action
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A form of intangible personal property consisting of a right to recover money or other property through litigation. The right must be enforceable by legal action rather than by physical possession.
Imran Iyer contracted to sell his patent license to Icarus Aviation. The agreement described the license as a right to collect royalties from third-party manufacturers. Because the license was a right enforceable only by lawsuit if royalties went unpaid, the transaction fell outside the UCC goods rules and was governed instead by general contract principles.
Isabella Ingram granted Integrity Partners a security interest in her pending breach-of-contract claim against a supplier. The claim qualified as a general intangible because it was a right to payment obtainable only through litigation. Integrity Partners perfected its interest by filing a financing statement covering general intangibles.
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Ilana Isaacs held a promissory note issued by a foreign national. When war was declared, the note became enemy property reachable only by court action. The government treated the note as a thing in action subject to seizure procedures rather than immediate physical confiscation.
Isabelle Inman inherited a right to receive payments under a will that had not yet been probated. The right existed only as a claim that could be enforced through probate court proceedings. The legislature could not retroactively alter the claim without violating constitutional limits on vested rights.
Irene Ingalls owned beachfront lots whose development rights were eliminated by a new coastal-protection statute. The loss of the right to build converted the property into a claim for compensation that could be pursued only through litigation. The claim was treated as a chose in action rather than tangible real estate.
Imani Idowu obtained a defamation judgment against protesters. The judgment represented a right to collect damages that existed only through enforcement proceedings. The right qualified as a thing in action that could be assigned or garnished like other litigation-based property.
The UCC expressly excludes things in action from the definition of goods under Article 2. A right to payment or performance that can be obtained only through litigation therefore falls outside sales-of-goods rules and is governed by general contract or Article 9 principles instead.
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Yes. A thing in action is included within the definition of general intangible under Article 9. A creditor may therefore perfect a security interest in litigation rights or claims by filing a financing statement that covers general intangibles.
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A thing in action is a right enforceable only by bringing a lawsuit, whereas tangible personal property can be possessed and transferred by physical delivery. The distinction determines whether Article 2 sales rules or general intangible rules apply to a transaction.
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…past forty years" in the region of the Isle of Palms that includes Lucas's lots. S. C. Code Ann. § 48-39-280(A)(2) (Supp. 1988). In action not challenged here, the Council fixed this baseline landward of Lucas's parcels. That was significant, for under the Act construction of occupable improvements was flatly prohibited…