A chose in action is a right of recognizable economic value, though it has no tangible or physical existence and therefore not capable of being physically possessed. Being an abstract right in property, if it is infringed or wrongfully or unlawfully detained, it can only be protected, claimed or enforced by action and not by taking physical possession. Examples of choses in action include rights to debts, shares in a joint stock company etc.
Choses in possession may be said to consist of corporeal chattels which by their nature can be the subject of physical possession and enjoyment. A chose in possession, being a tangible object, with actual physica1 existence, its possession and, if intended, ownership will pass by physical delivery while a chose in action has no physical existence, it cannot be found upon a demised premises, it has no locality, is incapable of manual seizure but is a right of recognizable economic value, though it has no tangible or physical existence and therefore not capable of being physically possessed.
A chose in action may be legal or equitable. A legal chose in action is a right enforceable and recoverable by an action at law while an equitable chose in action is a right which arises out of proprietary rights of which the Court of Chancery formally exercised exclusive jurisdiction. There also exists future chose in action which is a right in respect of property which has not fallen into possession but which is to be acquired at a future date.