ca assignment full form

Assignment of a claim or cause of action

Practical law uk practice note 1-522-7861 (approx. 32 pages), get full access to this document with practical law.

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Enhance productivity
Improve response time
Substantive Law
1 Scope of this note
Effect of contractual prohibition on assignment
3 At what stage may a claim be assigned?
4 To whom can a cause of action be assigned?
Legal assignment or equitable assignment?
Requirements for a legal assignment
Requirements for an equitable assignment
Effect of consideration
No loss occurring to assignee before assignment of claim
General principles
Exceptions to the rules on maintenance and champerty
Security for costs
Costs incurred by the assignor before the assignment
Who is liable for costs awarded in favour of the defendant?
Assignment of benefit and burden of solicitors' retainer
When might an office-holder assign a claim?
Who may assign a claim in insolvency?
Claims capable of assignment by an office-holder
Claims not capable of assignment by an office-holder
Assignment of claims to an office-holder
Potential liability of office-holder
10 Drafting an assignment of a cause of action
Legal assignment
Equitable assignment
Assigning proceedings that have been commenced
Counterclaims where a claim has been assigned

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2005 California Code of Civil Procedure Sections 708.510-708.560 Article 6. Assignment Order

Disclaimer: These codes may not be the most recent version. California may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.

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Notice of Assignment (CA) | Practical Law

Notice of Assignment (CA)

Practical law standard document w-008-5424 (approx. 10 pages).

Giving Up Your Inheritance: Assignment

As you probably already know, California allows you to disclaim your interest in an inheritance. Disclaiming an inheritance is simply the same as refusing an inheritance. If you disclaim your inheritance, it will be as if you “predeceased” the decedent, and the assets will be treated as though another person inherited them. In California, you can also make what is called an “assignment” if you do not want or need an inheritance. An assignment works differently from a disclaimer. Below is more about assigning inheritance.

What Is an Assignment of Inheritance?

If you receive an inheritance that you do not need or want, or if you receive an inheritance that you would prefer someone else receive, you can make an “assignment.” An assignment occurs when you transfer all or part of your inheritance to someone else.

The person making an assignment is known as an “assignor,” and the person receiving it is known as the “assignee.” Generally, an assignment is like a gift by the assignor to the assignee.

There are legal steps to be taken for an assignment to happen. An assignment is not an informal transfer. After all, transferring your inheritance to another person goes against what your deceased loved one designated or what California law requires based on familial relationships. Assignments are executed in writing and delivered to the executor of the estate. An assignment must be filed with the probate court before the transfer can be done.

If you are thinking of assigning your inheritance, you need to note that assignments create tax issues for both the assignor and assignee. Indeed, some tax issues can be avoided with an assignment, but you’d need to speak to a lawyer or tax advisor to determine the tax implications that apply to your case.

Reasons for Assignment

People assign assets for various reasons. The following are some of the reasons why people assign their interest in an inheritance;

To avoid gift tax if they don’t plan to use the money themselves
To exchange their inheritance for an immediate cash payment from a third party
To give a share in the estate to an accidentally omitted beneficiary

Assignment vs. Disclaimer

As already mentioned, assignments are different from disclaimers. Firstly, when it comes to assignment, you inherit the property and then assign it. On the other hand, you do not get any share of the inheritance with a disclaimer.

Secondly, if you assign your inheritance, you can choose who gets it. You can assign your inheritance to anyone you want. On the other hand, when you disclaim your inheritance, you have no direct say in who gets it. If you disclaim an inheritance, the beneficiary or heir next in line will likely inherit it.

Lastly, there is no time frame for assignment, whereas you generally have nine months for a disclaimer.

Because there is no time frame for assignment, people who don’t want or need their inheritance, who accidentally pass the required nine months for a disclaimer, usually end up assigning their inheritance.

In conclusion, it is crucial to note that you cannot undo an assignment. In other words, transferring your inheritance rights is an irrevocable act.

Contact The Probate Guy

When it comes to assignments and disclaimers, making the right decision is easiest when you have the support of a skilled attorney. Contact the experienced and dedicated California probate attorney , Robert L. Cohen – The Probate Guy – to schedule a telephonic consultation.

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I love being a probate attorney. I love helping people through a very difficult time in their lives with the probate process. My practice focuses solely on probate matters. My job is to complete the probate process as efficiently and painlessly for my clients as possible. I have found that paying the upfront costs of probate adds unneeded stress, so I will advance all of the fees and costs for the probate. No money is required to complete the probate. I will be reimbursed at the end of the case when you receive your inheritance. Call me NOW to discuss your case for free.

assignments basic law

Assignments: The Basic Law

The assignment of a right or obligation is a common contractual event under the law and the right to assign (or prohibition against assignments) is found in the majority of agreements, leases and business structural documents created in the United States.

As with many terms commonly used, people are familiar with the term but often are not aware or fully aware of what the terms entail. The concept of assignment of rights and obligations is one of those simple concepts with wide ranging ramifications in the contractual and business context and the law imposes severe restrictions on the validity and effect of assignment in many instances. Clear contractual provisions concerning assignments and rights should be in every document and structure created and this article will outline why such drafting is essential for the creation of appropriate and effective contracts and structures.

The reader should first read the article on Limited Liability Entities in the United States and Contracts since the information in those articles will be assumed in this article.

Basic Definitions and Concepts:

An assignment is the transfer of rights held by one party called the “assignor” to another party called the “assignee.” The legal nature of the assignment and the contractual terms of the agreement between the parties determines some additional rights and liabilities that accompany the assignment. The assignment of rights under a contract usually completely transfers the rights to the assignee to receive the benefits accruing under the contract. Ordinarily, the term assignment is limited to the transfer of rights that are intangible, like contractual rights and rights connected with property. Merchants Service Co. v. Small Claims Court , 35 Cal. 2d 109, 113-114 (Cal. 1950).

An assignment will generally be permitted under the law unless there is an express prohibition against assignment in the underlying contract or lease. Where assignments are permitted, the assignor need not consult the other party to the contract but may merely assign the rights at that time. However, an assignment cannot have any adverse effect on the duties of the other party to the contract, nor can it diminish the chance of the other party receiving complete performance. The assignor normally remains liable unless there is an agreement to the contrary by the other party to the contract.

The effect of a valid assignment is to remove privity between the assignor and the obligor and create privity between the obligor and the assignee. Privity is usually defined as a direct and immediate contractual relationship. See Merchants case above.

Further, for the assignment to be effective in most jurisdictions, it must occur in the present. One does not normally assign a future right; the assignment vests immediate rights and obligations.

No specific language is required to create an assignment so long as the assignor makes clear his/her intent to assign identified contractual rights to the assignee. Since expensive litigation can erupt from ambiguous or vague language, obtaining the correct verbiage is vital. An agreement must manifest the intent to transfer rights and can either be oral or in writing and the rights assigned must be certain.

Note that an assignment of an interest is the transfer of some identifiable property, claim, or right from the assignor to the assignee. The assignment operates to transfer to the assignee all of the rights, title, or interest of the assignor in the thing assigned. A transfer of all rights, title, and interests conveys everything that the assignor owned in the thing assigned and the assignee stands in the shoes of the assignor. Knott v. McDonald’s Corp ., 985 F. Supp. 1222 (N.D. Cal. 1997)

The parties must intend to effectuate an assignment at the time of the transfer, although no particular language or procedure is necessary. As long ago as the case of National Reserve Co. v. Metropolitan Trust Co ., 17 Cal. 2d 827 (Cal. 1941), the court held that in determining what rights or interests pass under an assignment, the intention of the parties as manifested in the instrument is controlling.

The intent of the parties to an assignment is a question of fact to be derived not only from the instrument executed by the parties but also from the surrounding circumstances. When there is no writing to evidence the intention to transfer some identifiable property, claim, or right, it is necessary to scrutinize the surrounding circumstances and parties’ acts to ascertain their intentions. Strosberg v. Brauvin Realty Servs., 295 Ill. App. 3d 17 (Ill. App. Ct. 1st Dist. 1998)

The general rule applicable to assignments of choses in action is that an assignment, unless there is a contract to the contrary, carries with it all securities held by the assignor as collateral to the claim and all rights incidental thereto and vests in the assignee the equitable title to such collateral securities and incidental rights. An unqualified assignment of a contract or chose in action, however, with no indication of the intent of the parties, vests in the assignee the assigned contract or chose and all rights and remedies incidental thereto.

More examples: In Strosberg v. Brauvin Realty Servs ., 295 Ill. App. 3d 17 (Ill. App. Ct. 1st Dist. 1998), the court held that the assignee of a party to a subordination agreement is entitled to the benefits and is subject to the burdens of the agreement. In Florida E. C. R. Co. v. Eno , 99 Fla. 887 (Fla. 1930), the court held that the mere assignment of all sums due in and of itself creates no different or other liability of the owner to the assignee than that which existed from the owner to the assignor.

And note that even though an assignment vests in the assignee all rights, remedies, and contingent benefits which are incidental to the thing assigned, those which are personal to the assignor and for his sole benefit are not assigned. Rasp v. Hidden Valley Lake, Inc ., 519 N.E.2d 153, 158 (Ind. Ct. App. 1988). Thus, if the underlying agreement provides that a service can only be provided to X, X cannot assign that right to Y.

Novation Compared to Assignment:

Although the difference between a novation and an assignment may appear narrow, it is an essential one. “Novation is a act whereby one party transfers all its obligations and benefits under a contract to a third party.” In a novation, a third party successfully substitutes the original party as a party to the contract. “When a contract is novated, the other contracting party must be left in the same position he was in prior to the novation being made.”

A sublease is the transfer when a tenant retains some right of reentry onto the leased premises. However, if the tenant transfers the entire leasehold estate, retaining no right of reentry or other reversionary interest, then the transfer is an assignment. The assignor is normally also removed from liability to the landlord only if the landlord consents or allowed that right in the lease. In a sublease, the original tenant is not released from the obligations of the original lease.

Equitable Assignments:

An equitable assignment is one in which one has a future interest and is not valid at law but valid in a court of equity. In National Bank of Republic v. United Sec. Life Ins. & Trust Co. , 17 App. D.C. 112 (D.C. Cir. 1900), the court held that to constitute an equitable assignment of a chose in action, the following has to occur generally: anything said written or done, in pursuance of an agreement and for valuable consideration, or in consideration of an antecedent debt, to place a chose in action or fund out of the control of the owner, and appropriate it to or in favor of another person, amounts to an equitable assignment. Thus, an agreement, between a debtor and a creditor, that the debt shall be paid out of a specific fund going to the debtor may operate as an equitable assignment.

In Egyptian Navigation Co. v. Baker Invs. Corp. , 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 30804 (S.D.N.Y. Apr. 14, 2008), the court stated that an equitable assignment occurs under English law when an assignor, with an intent to transfer his/her right to a chose in action, informs the assignee about the right so transferred.

An executory agreement or a declaration of trust are also equitable assignments if unenforceable as assignments by a court of law but enforceable by a court of equity exercising sound discretion according to the circumstances of the case. Since California combines courts of equity and courts of law, the same court would hear arguments as to whether an equitable assignment had occurred. Quite often, such relief is granted to avoid fraud or unjust enrichment.

Note that obtaining an assignment through fraudulent means invalidates the assignment. Fraud destroys the validity of everything into which it enters. It vitiates the most solemn contracts, documents, and even judgments. Walker v. Rich , 79 Cal. App. 139 (Cal. App. 1926). If an assignment is made with the fraudulent intent to delay, hinder, and defraud creditors, then it is void as fraudulent in fact. See our article on Transfers to Defraud Creditors .

But note that the motives that prompted an assignor to make the transfer will be considered as immaterial and will constitute no defense to an action by the assignee, if an assignment is considered as valid in all other respects.

Enforceability of Assignments:

Whether a right under a contract is capable of being transferred is determined by the law of the place where the contract was entered into. The validity and effect of an assignment is determined by the law of the place of assignment. The validity of an assignment of a contractual right is governed by the law of the state with the most significant relationship to the assignment and the parties.

In some jurisdictions, the traditional conflict of laws rules governing assignments has been rejected and the law of the place having the most significant contacts with the assignment applies. In Downs v. American Mut. Liability Ins. Co ., 14 N.Y.2d 266 (N.Y. 1964), a wife and her husband separated and the wife obtained a judgment of separation from the husband in New York. The judgment required the husband to pay a certain yearly sum to the wife. The husband assigned 50 percent of his future salary, wages, and earnings to the wife. The agreement authorized the employer to make such payments to the wife.

After the husband moved from New York, the wife learned that he was employed by an employer in Massachusetts. She sent the proper notice and demanded payment under the agreement. The employer refused and the wife brought an action for enforcement. The court observed that Massachusetts did not prohibit assignment of the husband’s wages. Moreover, Massachusetts law was not controlling because New York had the most significant relationship with the assignment. Therefore, the court ruled in favor of the wife.

Therefore, the validity of an assignment is determined by looking to the law of the forum with the most significant relationship to the assignment itself. To determine the applicable law of assignments, the court must look to the law of the state which is most significantly related to the principal issue before it.

Assignment of Contractual Rights:

Generally, the law allows the assignment of a contractual right unless the substitution of rights would materially change the duty of the obligor, materially increase the burden or risk imposed on the obligor by the contract, materially impair the chance of obtaining return performance, or materially reduce the value of the performance to the obligor. Restat 2d of Contracts, § 317(2)(a). This presumes that the underlying agreement is silent on the right to assign.

If the contract specifically precludes assignment, the contractual right is not assignable. Whether a contract is assignable is a matter of contractual intent and one must look to the language used by the parties to discern that intent.

In the absence of an express provision to the contrary, the rights and duties under a bilateral executory contract that does not involve personal skill, trust, or confidence may be assigned without the consent of the other party. But note that an assignment is invalid if it would materially alter the other party’s duties and responsibilities. Once an assignment is effective, the assignee stands in the shoes of the assignor and assumes all of assignor’s rights. Hence, after a valid assignment, the assignor’s right to performance is extinguished, transferred to assignee, and the assignee possesses the same rights, benefits, and remedies assignor once possessed. Robert Lamb Hart Planners & Architects v. Evergreen, Ltd. , 787 F. Supp. 753 (S.D. Ohio 1992).

On the other hand, an assignee’s right against the obligor is subject to “all of the limitations of the assignor’s right, all defenses thereto, and all set-offs and counterclaims which would have been available against the assignor had there been no assignment, provided that these defenses and set-offs are based on facts existing at the time of the assignment.” See Robert Lamb , case, above.

The power of the contract to restrict assignment is broad. Usually, contractual provisions that restrict assignment of the contract without the consent of the obligor are valid and enforceable, even when there is statutory authorization for the assignment. The restriction of the power to assign is often ineffective unless the restriction is expressly and precisely stated. Anti-assignment clauses are effective only if they contain clear, unambiguous language of prohibition. Anti-assignment clauses protect only the obligor and do not affect the transaction between the assignee and assignor.

Usually, a prohibition against the assignment of a contract does not prevent an assignment of the right to receive payments due, unless circumstances indicate the contrary. Moreover, the contracting parties cannot, by a mere non-assignment provision, prevent the effectual alienation of the right to money which becomes due under the contract.

A contract provision prohibiting or restricting an assignment may be waived, or a party may so act as to be estopped from objecting to the assignment, such as by effectively ratifying the assignment. The power to void an assignment made in violation of an anti-assignment clause may be waived either before or after the assignment. See our article on Contracts.

Noncompete Clauses and Assignments:

Of critical import to most buyers of businesses is the ability to ensure that key employees of the business being purchased cannot start a competing company. Some states strictly limit such clauses, some do allow them. California does restrict noncompete clauses, only allowing them under certain circumstances. A common question in those states that do allow them is whether such rights can be assigned to a new party, such as the buyer of the buyer.

A covenant not to compete, also called a non-competitive clause, is a formal agreement prohibiting one party from performing similar work or business within a designated area for a specified amount of time. This type of clause is generally included in contracts between employer and employee and contracts between buyer and seller of a business.

Many workers sign a covenant not to compete as part of the paperwork required for employment. It may be a separate document similar to a non-disclosure agreement, or buried within a number of other clauses in a contract. A covenant not to compete is generally legal and enforceable, although there are some exceptions and restrictions.

Whenever a company recruits skilled employees, it invests a significant amount of time and training. For example, it often takes years before a research chemist or a design engineer develops a workable knowledge of a company’s product line, including trade secrets and highly sensitive information. Once an employee gains this knowledge and experience, however, all sorts of things can happen. The employee could work for the company until retirement, accept a better offer from a competing company or start up his or her own business.

A covenant not to compete may cover a number of potential issues between employers and former employees. Many companies spend years developing a local base of customers or clients. It is important that this customer base not fall into the hands of local competitors. When an employee signs a covenant not to compete, he or she usually agrees not to use insider knowledge of the company’s customer base to disadvantage the company. The covenant not to compete often defines a broad geographical area considered off-limits to former employees, possibly tens or hundreds of miles.

Another area of concern covered by a covenant not to compete is a potential ‘brain drain’. Some high-level former employees may seek to recruit others from the same company to create new competition. Retention of employees, especially those with unique skills or proprietary knowledge, is vital for most companies, so a covenant not to compete may spell out definite restrictions on the hiring or recruiting of employees.

A covenant not to compete may also define a specific amount of time before a former employee can seek employment in a similar field. Many companies offer a substantial severance package to make sure former employees are financially solvent until the terms of the covenant not to compete have been met.

Because the use of a covenant not to compete can be controversial, a handful of states, including California, have largely banned this type of contractual language. The legal enforcement of these agreements falls on individual states, and many have sided with the employee during arbitration or litigation. A covenant not to compete must be reasonable and specific, with defined time periods and coverage areas. If the agreement gives the company too much power over former employees or is ambiguous, state courts may declare it to be overbroad and therefore unenforceable. In such case, the employee would be free to pursue any employment opportunity, including working for a direct competitor or starting up a new company of his or her own.

It has been held that an employee’s covenant not to compete is assignable where one business is transferred to another, that a merger does not constitute an assignment of a covenant not to compete, and that a covenant not to compete is enforceable by a successor to the employer where the assignment does not create an added burden of employment or other disadvantage to the employee. However, in some states such as Hawaii, it has also been held that a covenant not to compete is not assignable and under various statutes for various reasons that such covenants are not enforceable against an employee by a successor to the employer. Hawaii v. Gannett Pac. Corp. , 99 F. Supp. 2d 1241 (D. Haw. 1999)

It is vital to obtain the relevant law of the applicable state before drafting or attempting to enforce assignment rights in this particular area.

Conclusion:

In the current business world of fast changing structures, agreements, employees and projects, the ability to assign rights and obligations is essential to allow flexibility and adjustment to new situations. Conversely, the ability to hold a contracting party into the deal may be essential for the future of a party. Thus, the law of assignments and the restriction on same is a critical aspect of every agreement and every structure. This basic provision is often glanced at by the contracting parties, or scribbled into the deal at the last minute but can easily become the most vital part of the transaction.

As an example, one client of ours came into the office outraged that his co venturer on a sizable exporting agreement, who had excellent connections in Brazil, had elected to pursue another venture instead and assigned the agreement to a party unknown to our client and without the business contacts our client considered vital. When we examined the handwritten agreement our client had drafted in a restaurant in Sao Paolo, we discovered there was no restriction on assignment whatsoever…our client had not even considered that right when drafting the agreement after a full day of work.

One choses who one does business with carefully…to ensure that one’s choice remains the party on the other side of the contract, one must master the ability to negotiate proper assignment provisions.

Founded in 1939, our law firm combines the ability to represent clients in domestic or international matters with the personal interaction with clients that is traditional to a long established law firm.

Assignment of Benefits, Part 10: California

The requests from our readers keep coming and in this week’s installment of my blog series on Assignment of Benefits (“AOB”) we are taking a look at California and how AOBs are handled there.

California Insurance Code § 520, states as follows, “[a]n agreement not to transfer the claim of the insured against the insurer after a loss has happened, is void if made before the loss.”

The Supreme Court of California confirmed the enforceability of this statute in the case of Fluor Corp. v. Superior Court of Orange County . There, the court provided an extensive history of case law and statutes in California regarding first and third-party liability insurance policies, and ultimately held:

[A]fter [] property damage [] resulting in loss occurs within the time limits of the policy, an insurer is precluded from refusing to honor an insured’s assignment of the right to invoke defense or indemnification coverage regarding that loss. This result obtains even without consent by the insurer—and even though the dollar amount of the loss remains unknown or undetermined until established later by a judgment or approved settlement. 1

As you can see, this decision follows with the majority of states we have reviewed prior to this, and as long as your assignment takes place after a loss, California permits assignment of benefits without the consent of the insurance carrier and despite any anti-assignment language include in the policy.

If you have specific questions on AOBs or would like to see your state come up sooner, please comment below, or send me an email at [email protected].

As always, I’ll leave you with a (mildly) related tune, here’s one of my favorites from a quintessential California band, The Beach Boys with Good Vibrations:

________ 1 Fluor Corp. v. Superior Court of Orange County, et al,, 61 Cal.4th 1175, 1224, 354 P.3d 302, 334 (2015) .

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What We Know About the Francis Scott Key Bridge Collapse in Baltimore

Federal investigators are searching for answers about how a massive cargo ship struck a major bridge minutes after leaving the Port of Baltimore early Tuesday.

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A helicopter flying over the remnants of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, which collapsed into the Patapsco River after it was struck by a ship in Baltimore.

By Adeel Hassan

Federal investigators are examining data recordings and interviewing key witnesses as they try to figure out how a giant container ship struck the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore early Tuesday.

The bridge, a part of Interstate 695 and a critical transportation link on the Eastern Seaboard to one of the largest ports in the country, collapsed, and vessel traffic has since been stopped.

Seven construction workers and an inspector were on the bridge when it collapsed. Two people were pulled alive from the water shortly after the bridge collapsed. Divers on Wednesday found a red pickup truck about 25 feet below the water surface and found two victims inside, officials said. The other four remain missing and are presumed dead.

Governor Wes Moore and the F.B.I. said there was no credible evidence of a terrorist attack.

Here’s what we know.

Why did the ship hit the bridge?

It’s not yet clear, and investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board boarded the ship on Tuesday night to gather documentation. They obtained data from the voyage data recorder, which is essentially the black box. That has been sent to a lab to help the authorities develop a timeline of events that led up to the crash.

The 985-foot-long cargo vessel, called the Dali, was leaving the Port of Baltimore when it had a “ complete blackout ” that knocked out power to the engine and the navigation equipment, an industry official said. The ship issued a mayday call just before hitting a critical component of the bridge, known as a pylon or pier. Radio traffic from emergency workers suggested that the crew was struggling to steer the ship, according to audio published by Broadcastify. It was traveling at about nine miles per hour, officials said, which is typical in that zone.

Audio from a Maryland Transportation Authority police channel showed that the mayday call had allowed officers a few precious minutes to close the bridge to traffic. The effort to rapidly shut down traffic probably prevented more cars from being on the bridge during the collapse and saved lives, officials said.

Baltimore harbor pilots were directing the ship at the time of the crash, as is customary when vessels enter ports or canals, according to a joint statement from the ship’s owner and manager. Two tugboats helped the ship steer out of the terminal but then returned to the port for their next ship assignment, port officials said.

Governor Moore said that the bridge was fully up to code and that the collapse did not appear to be the result of a structural issue.

What is the death toll?

Coast Guard and state police officials said the construction workers, who were working as contractors doing overnight maintenance on the bridge, had been missing too long to hope for rescue and cited cold water temperatures.

The two who were found on Wednesday were identified as Alejandro Hernandez Fuentes, 35, of Baltimore, and Dorlian Ronial Castillo Cabrera, 26, of Dundalk, Md. Mr. Fuentes was from Mexico, and Mr. Cabrera was from Guatemala.

Divers can no longer reach the area where they believe more vehicles — and victims — remain, so officials have ended the search and are moving to a cleanup operation, removing debris. Once that is complete and vehicles are accessible, divers will return to search for bodies, the police said.

One of the workers still missing is a Honduran citizen, Maynor Yasir Suazo Sandoval, in his 30s, who had been living in the United States for nearly two decades, according to Honduras’s migrant protection service. A nonprofit organization that provides services to the immigrant community in Baltimore identified another missing worker as Miguel Luna, a father of three from El Salvador in his 40s.

What about the ship and its crew?

The Dali is registered in Singapore and was headed for Colombo, Sri Lanka, according to MarineTraffic, a maritime data platform. It was carrying 4,700 shipping containers, according to Synergy Marine, its manager and operator. But the ship can handle about twice as many, according to the company.

The ship, which remains in the narrow shipping lane, has 1.5 million gallons of fuel and lubricant oil on board, said Vice Adm. Peter Gautier, the deputy commandant for operations for the Coast Guard, adding that 56 of the 4,700 containers still on the ship contained hazardous materials. “There is no threat to the public from the hazardous materials on board,” he said.

An inspection of the ship last year at a port in Chile reported that the vessel had a deficiency related to gauges and thermometers.

The Dali has had 27 inspections since 2015, according to a database maintained by Equasis, a public site that promotes maritime safety. The only other deficiency, a damaged hull “impairing seaworthiness,” was found in 2016 at the port of Antwerp. The vessel hit a stone wall at the port that year. A spokesman for the Dali’s owner, Grace Ocean Investment, declined to comment on the deficiency turned up last year.

The ship’s 24 crew members, including two Baltimore port pilots who were directing the vessel at the time of the crash, were accounted for, and there were no injuries among those on the ship, the owners said. On board were 22 Indian citizens.

What about the bridge?

Construction of the bridge started in 1972, and it was completed in March 1977. The bridge spanned 1.6 miles over the Patapsco River, but the crossing’s overall structure, including its connecting approaches, was almost 11 miles long. It carried about 35 million vehicles annually.

The collapse might have been avoided , some engineers said, if the pylons holding up the bridge had been better protected with blocking devices called fenders. Those can be anything from rocks piled around the pylons to large concrete rings padded with slats of wood. But the protection would have had to be able to absorb a hit from such a huge container vessel.

Pete Buttigieg, the U.S. secretary of transportation, said on Wednesday that the structure was “simply not made to withstand a direct impact” from a modern cargo vessel. He noted that ships frequenting the port today are “orders of magnitude bigger” than ships in use when the bridge was built.

“It’s difficult to overstate the impact of this collision,” Mr. Buttigieg said, noting that the Dali was “not just as big as a building — it’s really as big as a block. A hundred thousand tons, all going into this pier all at once.”

President Biden said he expected that the federal government would pay for the “entire cost” of rebuilding the bridge, and he called on Congress to support efforts to fund the repairs.

Luke Broadwater , Peter Eavis , Jacey Fortin , Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs , Anna Betts James Glanz , Jenny Gross , Mike Baker , Miriam Jordan , Patricia Mazzei , Emiliano Rodríguez Mega Michael D. Shear , Zach Montague and Jin Yu Young contributed reporting.

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The ultimate green burial human composting lets you replenish the earth after death.

April Dembosky

At Recompose in Seattle, families can hold a funeral ceremony known as a laying-in before the body is prepared for human composting. In this photo, a demonstration mannequin stands in for the body. Afterwards, the body is moved into a composting vessel in the adjacent building and surrounded with wood chips, alfalfa, and straw to start the 30-40 day process. April Dembosky/KQED hide caption

When Dennis Cunningham was diagnosed with terminal cancer, he wanted his death to reflect the values he lived by. As a civil rights lawyer, Cunningham defended the Black Panthers, AIDS protestors, and later, environmental activists from Earth First.

"He was a profound environmentalist," his son, Joe Mellis, said.

This story was produced in partnership with KFF Health News .

In his spare time, Cunningham built sculptures out of driftwood, bottle caps, and rusted car parts in his backyard studio in San Francisco. He wanted his body to be part of that same cycle of decay and regeneration.

He instructed his kids to have him composted after he died.

"It was totally in keeping with who he was to not make waste, but to use waste," said Cunningham's daughter, Miranda Mellis.

To Cunningham, being turned into soil and spread on the forest floor to fertilize new trees was much more appealing than being burned to ash or entombed in a concrete vault underground.

A growing number of Americans are likewise eager to see more environmentally friendly alternatives to conventional burial and cremation. Human composting is the latest option.

But not everywhere, or even in most states. When Cunningham died on March 5, 2022, at his son's house in Los Angeles, it wasn't an option there.

"It's literally illegal to compost a body in the state of California," said his son Joe Mellis. "We had to transport his body from California to Washington to do this."

Seven states have legalized human composting to date, including Washington, Oregon, Colorado, Nevada, Vermont, and New York. It took California lawmakers three tries to pass a law to do the same, but it won't take effect until 2027.

Opposition has mainly come from religious institutions that consider human composting "undignified," and which highlight the scarcity of research proving the practice is safe and environmentally beneficial.

Lawmakers have championed the legislation, nonetheless, arguing that a natural process of decomposition is inherently better than burning fossil fuels for cremation, harvesting rainforest mahogany to make coffins, or spraying pesticides across cemetery lawns.

A new kind of funerary business

Cunningham ended up at Recompose , a human composting facility in Seattle. Founder and CEO Katrina Spade said about 15% of their clients are shipped from California and another 14% from other states.

"We pick them up at Sea-Tac," she said, referring to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

The Gathering Space is a room at Recompose where families can hold services and rituals for their loved ones. In this photo, a demonstration mannequin stands in for the body. Recompose hide caption

The Gathering Space is a room at Recompose where families can hold services and rituals for their loved ones. In this photo, a demonstration mannequin stands in for the body.

Walking into the lobby of Recompose feels like walking into a spa. Meditation music whispers from hidden speakers. Living art tapestries decorate the walls; earthy green and yellow shades cover the windows.

"When the light comes through, we hope it reminds you of the forest light," Spade said, while walking through the Gathering Space, a ceremonial room where families can hold services and rituals for their loved ones.

The science of human composting

The composting itself happens in a cavernous warehouse that Spade calls the greenhouse. She describes the smell as alternating between that of a grassy meadow after a rain and a barnyard. Inside the warehouse, 34 white hexagonal cylinders, or individual vessels, are stacked on top of each other, forming the shape of a beehive.

When a new body comes in, the staff lay it inside one of the vessels on a bed of wood chips, alfalfa, and straw, Spade said, then they cover it with more of the same.

"If you were alive, it would probably be a little itchy," Spade said.

Microbes and bacteria go to work on the body, a natural process that generates heat, raising the temperature inside the vessel to 150 degrees Fahrenheit. Under Washington state regulations , this natural heat has to be sustained for three straight days to kill off any pathogens that otherwise might contaminate the soil.

Composting vessels arranged in a honeycomb array at the Recompose human composting facility in Seattle, WA. Recompose hide caption

Composting vessels arranged in a honeycomb array at the Recompose human composting facility in Seattle, WA.

"Seven or eight years I've been doing this, and still, when I see that temperature spike, I think, 'Holy mackerel!'" Spade said, channeling her inner 8th-grade science fair nerd. "It just feels like some sort of miracle, even though it is nature."

The body stays in the vessel for about 30 to 40 days. Every week or so, the staff rotate it to let air through and the body transforms and consolidates into a cubic yard of dark brown dirt, enough to fill the bed of a pickup truck.

The staff removes any titanium hips or knees left over in the process, then grinds the bones down to sand and mixes them back in with the soil.

The entire process takes about two months and costs about $7,000 — more than the cost of cremation, but less than a full service conventional burial with cemetery plot, according to data collected by Funeralocity , a consumer website.

Environmentally, Spade argues, composting is way better than both, because of all the resources it does not use by comparison, such as fossil fuels, rainforest wood, or land. When she asked environmental engineer Troy Hottle to crunch the numbers, he found composting saves more than a metric ton of carbon compared to the alternatives.

Another study by Dutch researchers at Leiden University, also commissioned by Recompose, found similar environmental benefits to composting.

Human compositing inspires innovation — and opposition

During the deadliest period of the COVID-19 pandemic, so many people were being cremated in California, the emissions violated local air district rules, according to state Assemblymember Cristina Garcia, a Democrat from Bell Gardens.

This is part of what inspired her to carry a bill to legalize human composting in California, AB 351 . It passed the state legislature in 2022 and will take effect in 2027, giving regulatory agencies time to prepare.

"The pandemic exacerbated the situation and reminded us of the importance of the choices we make throughout our life cycle," Garcia told KQED after the bill was signed into law. "It added a sense of urgency."

It took three tries, across three legislative sessions, for lawmakers to pass the bill, even though the opposition to human composting was minimal and tepid.

The California Catholic Conference raised concerns about the safety of composted human remains, pointing out that supporters of the bill relied on just one small, non-peer-reviewed study from Recompose to contend that all toxic elements of the body, like dental implants or chemotherapy treatments, were properly eliminated.

The bishops also argued that composting a human body and scattering the remains was undignified. It "risks people treading over human remains without their knowledge," the Catholic Conference wrote in a statement, "while repeated dispersions in the same area are tantamount to a mass grave."

But Recompose's Spade says her company has composted many Catholics.

"We've had priests bless the body before," she said. "We've had priests bless the soil after."

Some liberal-leaning rabbis have also considered how human composting can comply with Jewish death care rituals, and " some are even creating liturgy , or creating words to say around these kinds of processes," according to Courtney Applewhite, who studied religious responses to human composting during her doctoral research at UC Santa Barbara.

After composting: resting places and rituals

Composting helped Joe and Miranda Mellis grieve after their dad died. Most of his soil was spread on the floor of a forest in Southwest Washington. Another portion went under a beloved hemlock tree on his family's land in Michigan.

Some of the kids kept some compost for themselves. Joe has a box in his home office in Los Angeles. Miranda buried some in the woods behind her house in Olympia. In Washington , human compost can be spread anywhere as long as the landowner says it's okay . California plans to follow suit .

"This tree is a vine maple," Miranda said, as she dodged a spider web and ducked under the low, thin mossy branches arching out in all directions, a spot she chose because it feels "parental."

Miranda Mellis tends to an altar she built behind her home where she buried some of her father's composted remains in Olympia, Washington on Dec. 20, 2023. April Dembosky/KQED hide caption

Miranda Mellis tends to an altar she built behind her home where she buried some of her father's composted remains in Olympia, Washington on Dec. 20, 2023.

She knelt next to a little altar she built over the roots, tending a small bowl of rocks and shells her father collected and a jagged crystal, surrounded by a ring of pinecones.

"I meditate here and sometimes I talk to him here. I think of this as like a telephone booth to the afterworld," she said. "I can just hear him as if he's sitting right next to me."

Having her father here, the sense of his body giving back to the earth, it all somehow mitigated the pain of the loss, she said. It made her less afraid of her own mortality.

"After all of this, I thought, 'I think I want to do it, too,'" she said.

Both Miranda and Joe say they also want to be composted when they die.

This story comes from NPR's health reporting partnership with KQED and KFF Health News .