North Carolina Baptist Hospitals, Inc. v. Mitchell

Under the common law governing assignments, a litigant may, while an action is pending, assign any recovery he may obtain. The assignee becomes the equitable owner of the claim and is entitled to an assignment of the judgment when it is entered. Fertilizer Works v. Newbern, 210 N.C. 9, 185 S.E. 471 (1936). A debtor with notice of an assignment has a duty to make payment to the assignee. Lipe v. Bank, 236 N.C. 328, 331, 72 S.E. 2d 759, 761 (1952).

A valid assignment may be made by any contract between the assignor and the assignee which manifests an intention to make the assignee the present…