CHOSE (shoz) IN ACTION ( Fr. chose, thing, from Med. Lat. ro.s.a, eausa, thing, Lat. causa, cause). In the law of England, that kind of property which is founded not in possession, but in the legal right to possess. As this right ran, in general, be vindicated and made available only by means of an action, the property to which it relates, whether real or personal. is called a thing ( bat. res, or Fr. chose) in action, to dis tinguish it from a thing already in p)ssession. The right to recover money due on bonds and bills, and that to recover on goods bought and not yet delivered, are examples of Ansel; in ac tion, as is also the right to compensation for damages occasioned by breach of contract or by tort.
By the strict rule of the ancient common no chose in action could be assigned or granted over. because it was thought to he a great en couragement to litigiousness if a were al lowed to make over to a stranger his right of going to law. (See ClIAMPERTY. ) But this nicety is not now so far regarded as to render such a transaction really ineffectual. It is, On the e(aftra•y, in substance a valid and constant practice; though, in eomplianee with the ancient principle, the effect of assigning a chose in action is to confer on the assignee a power of attorney to prosecute the action in the assignor's name for the assignee's own benefit. The assignment has this effect in law, and not in equity alone, as is commonly stated. lf, however, the assignor
interfered with his assignment by collecting the chose in action, or otherwise, equity would pro teet the assignee's rights, provided the assign ment was made for value. The King is an ex ception to this general rule, for he may always either grant or receive a chose in action by assignment. By the law merchant an indorser of negotiable paper could sue upon the paper in his own name. The law relating to ehoses in action was formerly the same in the United States as in England. But in many States. as in New York, the assignee of a chose in action is now allowed to sue upon his right in his own name, provided the chose in action is not a right to recover for personal injuries, such right not being assignable. The assignee of a chose in ac tion. however, takes it subject to all defenses which might have been interposed to it had the action been brought upon it by the original owner. Choses in possession are commonly called chat tels (q.v.). The branches of the law relating to ehoses in action are specifically treated under such titles as ASSIGNMENT ; SPECIFIC PERFORM ANCE; NEGOTIABLE INSTRUMENTS. etc. Consult the authorities referred to under CONTRACT; and for a discussion of the early English law upon the ownership of ehoses in action, consult Pollock and Maitland. Theiory of English Low (Boston, 1:499).