What is the difference between common law subrogation and contractual subrogation?

Answer 1

First, the difference used to matter in the US, but in most instances the difference is negligible now. Common law subrogation arises from the historic decisions of the courts of the state or jurisdiction where the subrogation lien arose. These courts in almost every state established laws that provided that a payor of another's true debt would have a claim against the responsible party (or - more accurately - a lien on the harmed party's claim against the responsible party). Contractual subrogation technically arises out of a contract (such as an insurance policy or mortgage agreement) that provides in a clause or two that if payments need to be made then the payor will have a claim (or a lien on the claim) against the responsible party. Nowadays, the distinction between the two is very blurry as most courts recognize the common law subrogation right, and treat it in tandem with the contractual subrogation rights. Ken Levine; Nelson, Levine, de Luca & Horst