Contract Transfers& Breach Remedies
Chapter 12 (pages 242-255)
Section 12.1 - Transfer of Contractual Rights and Duties
Transfer of Rights
Recall that when individuals enter contracts, they:
- Receive rights (benefits)
- Incur duties (detriments)
Rights and duties may be transferred legally from the original parties to someone new, as long as the contract does not specifically prohibit it.
- The transfer of a right under a contract is called assignment.
The party who transfers the right is the assignor.
The party to whom the right is transferred is the assignee.
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Anthony owed his landlord $1,800. He therefore assigned his right to the $1,800 to his landlord.
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When payment was due, Cathy paid the $1,800 to Anthony's landlord.
How Rights May Be Assigned
The law does not specify how one party may assign a right to another.
However, it is best to put an assignment in writing because an oral assignment can be difficult to prove.
What Rights May Be Assigned
Most rights may be assigned unless the assignment changes the obligations of the other party to the contract in an important way.