Va. Code » Title 8.01. Civil Remedies and Procedure » Chapter 3. Actions » Article 1. Survival and Assignment of Causes of Actions
Virginia Code

Va. Code Ann. § 8.01-26 (2026)

Assignment of causes of action

✓ current as of May 2026
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Only those causes of action for damage to real or personal property, whether such damage be direct or indirect, and causes of action ex contractu are assignable. The provisions of this section shall not prohibit any injured party or his estate from making a voluntary assignment of the proceeds or anticipated proceeds of any court award or settlement (i) as security for new value given in consideration of such voluntary assignment or (ii) into a self-settled trust for which the injured party is the beneficiary. Such self-settled trust may also support the charitable purpose of one or more charitable organizations organized and operated pursuant to § 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

1977, c. 617; 1991, c. 256; 2025, c. 295.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 42 cases (5 in the last 5 years), 1979–2022 · leading case: Cmty. Hosp. of Roanoke Valley, Inc. v. Musser (In Re Musser), 24 B.R. 913 (W.D. Va. 1982).
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Cmty. Hosp. of Roanoke Valley, Inc. v. Musser (In Re Musser), 24 B.R. 913 (W.D. Va. 1982). · cites it 12× “The bankruptcy court held that the assignments of the debtors’ personal injury proceeds were void ab initio under Virginia law.”
Johnson v. Hart, 692 S.E.2d 239 (Va. 2010). · cites it 8× “" Accordingly, because this Court has interpreted Code § 8.01-26 to exclude the assignment of legal malpractice claims, the trial court reasoned that Code § 8.”
Dodd v. Lang, 71 Va. Cir. 235 (Roanoke County Cir. Ct. 2006). · cites it 13× “01-26 prohibits the assignment of personal injury causes of action.”
Matson v. Alpert (In re LandAmerica Fin. Grp., Inc.), 470 B.R. 759 (Bankr. E.D. Va. 2012). · cites it 6× “Va.Code § 8.01-26; FDIC v. Cocke, 7 F.3d 396, 401-02 (4th Cir.”
MNC Credit Corp. v. Sickels, 497 S.E.2d 331 (Va. 1998). · cites it 4× “MNC Credit, relying upon Code § 8.01-26 and court decisions in other jurisdictions, asserts that legal malpractice claims are assignable in this Commonwealth.”
Stone Street Capital, Inc. v. Granati (In Re Granati), 270 B.R. 575 (Bankr. E.D. Va. 2001). · cites it 5× “]”); Va.Code Ann. § 8.01-26 (“Only those causes of action for damage to real or personal property, whether such damage be direct or indirect, and causes of action ex contract “are assignable.”
Long & Foster Real Est., Inc. v. NRT Mid-Atl., Inc., 357 F. Supp. 2d 911 (E.D. Va. 2005). · cites it 5× “Indeed, Virginia Code § 8.01-26 provides that “those causes of action for damage to real or personal property, whether such damage be direct or indirect, and causes of action ex contractu are assignable.”
King v. Webb, 214 B.R. 553 (E.D. Va. 1997). · cites it 6× “As evidenced by legislative history, the statute was apparently designed to reflect the pohcy of Virginia Code § 8.01-26, such that all actions for personal injury unassignable under § 8.”
Gen. Sec. Ins. v. Jordan, Coyne & Savits, LLP, 357 F. Supp. 2d 951 (E.D. Va. 2005). · cites it 3× “The specific issue in Sickels was whether Va.Code § 8.01-26, which states that "causes of action ex contractu are assignable,” applied to legal malpractice claims.”
Cincinnati Ins. v. Ruch, 940 F. Supp. 2d 338 (E.D. Va. 2013). · cites it 12× “” The second, Va. Code Ann. § 8.01-26 , eliminated the “direct/indireet” distinction, and it also separated the issues of assignability and survivability by providing that: “Only those causes of action for damage to real or personal property, whether such damage be direct or…”
Bay Point Condo. Ass'n v. RML Corp., 57 Va. Cir. 295 (2002). · cites it 6× “) Defendants’ first argument contends that Plaintiffs lacked standing to pursue RML’s claims because under Virginia Code § 8.01-26, RML’s claims were not assignable.”
Cardinal Holding Co. v. Deal, 522 S.E.2d 614 (Va. 1999). · cites it 4× “Ayers claims, however, that it was *630 objectively reasonable for lawyers to believe that the common law in Virginia had been modified in 1977 by the enactment of the following pertinent provisions of Code § 8.01-26: Only those causes of action for damage to real or personal…”
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