Causes of Action and Judgment Debts

Abstract This chapter examines the nature of causes of action and judgment debts, focusing on the original concept of a chose in action—the right to bring a legal claim—and its evolution. It explores territoriality, showing how jurisdiction impacts the character and enforceability of a cause of action, particularly in private international law. The chapter classifies rights of action into private and public categories, concluding that only private law rights are assignable choses in action, while judicial review and private prosecutions are not. It also explains how causes of action merge into judgments or compromises and distinguishes between judgments, rights of action, and other intangible property, including their assignability. Finally, the chapter draws a crucial distinction between assigning a right of action and assigning the fruits of litigation, the latter being permitted and significant in modern third-party litigation funding.