Dealing with multiple gratuitous assignments: who prevails?

Dealing with multiple gratuitous assignments: who prevails?

• A. The last gratuitous assignee in time prevails
• B. The first gratuitous assignee in time prevails
• C. The later gratuitous assignee prevails if he did not know of earlier assignments
• D. The gratuitous assignor prevails

Answer: (A)

When multiple gratuitous transfers of the same thing occur, the act made last in time controls. A gratuitous disposition reflects the donor’s intent to part with the property, and a later disposition effectively supersedes an earlier one. The latest gratuitous assignment conveys the rights to the most recent recipient, so the last assignee in time has the superior claim, regardless of whether he knew about earlier gifts. For example, if a donor gives the same car to A and then later to B, the car belongs to B because the later gift governs.

When multiple gratuitous transfers of the same thing occur, the act made last in time controls. A gratuitous disposition reflects the donor’s intent to part with the property, and a later disposition effectively supersedes an earlier one. The latest gratuitous assignment conveys the rights to the most recent recipient, so the last assignee in time has the superior claim, regardless of whether he knew about earlier gifts. For example, if a donor gives the same car to A and then later to B, the car belongs to B because the later gift governs.