"A personal right of property which can only be claimed or enforced by (legal) action, as distinguished from one which is enforceable by the taking of physical possession."
Head v City of St. John's 1996 148 Nfld. & PEIR 155
A property right in something intangible, or which are not in one's possession, but enforceable through legal or court action.
"Choses in action" are property interests that are "out there", incapable of being grasped and which although of value, would require legal action to convert to cash.
Originally representing "a mere right to sue for a debt or for damages", the term gradually developed as lawyers and judges had to grapple with "incorporeal personal property", increasingly prevalent in a growing commercial world (W. Warren, Choses in action, 1899: Sweet & MaxWell).
Examples may include cash, a right of action in tort or breach of contract, an entitlement to a tax refund, cheques, money, salaries, debts, insurance claims, shares in companies and pensions.