LAW 122 Lecture Notes - Lecture 24: Counterclaim, Estoppel
Document Summary
Paradise is half right and half wrong. Carol prohibited such an arrangement, she was entitled to assign her rights under that agreement. She therefore was entitled to immediately sell her right to receive 000 on july 1st to nigel. The law generally allows an assignment of contractual rights because it should not matter to the debtor (paradise) to whom it is obliged to pay. In contrast, as a general rule, contractual obligations cannot be assigned. An exception exists that allows for vicarious performance if an obligation is non-personal ie if it does not matter who exactly performs it. That is usually true, for instance, when a contractor arranges for a sub-contractor to install plumbing in a new house. The homeowner does not care precisely who undertakes the various tasks associated with the project. Vicarious performance is not allowed, however, if the identity of the performing party is significant. That would be true in the present case.