obligee

An obligee is a party in an obligation who is entitled to receive performance from another party, the obligor. The term is used in contract law, loan agreements, and suretyship. In a typical contract, the obligee is the person or entity to whom a promise or duty is owed; the obligor is the person bound to perform. Examples include a lender (the obligee) who expects repayment from a borrower, or a client who expects services from a contractor.

Rights and remedies: The obligee may demand performance and enforce the obligation in court if the obligor breaches. Remedies may include damages, specific performance, injunctions in appropriate cases, and recovery of enforcement costs or interest on late payments.

Suretyship: In a surety arrangement, the obligee is the creditor protected by the obligation. The principal (the obligor) is primarily liable, and a surety or guarantor provides secondary liability. If the principal defaults, the obligee may sue the principal first and, after demand, may recover from the surety to the extent provided by the contract and applicable law.

Distinctions: In civil-law systems, the term creditor is often used as a near-equivalent, though obligee emphasizes the relation to a specific obligation rather than the broader concept of a creditor. The status of an obligee can be transferred or assigned in some contexts through assignment of rights, subject to legal requirements.