Civil Law Review: Obligations, Contracts, and Sales

A complete set of flashcards covering key definitions, legal principles, and specific articles related to Obligations, Contracts, and Sales as discussed in the lecture notes.

What is the legal definition of an obligation?

An obligation is a juridical necessity to give, to do, or not to do.

What are the five sources of obligations listed in the notes?

The five sources are law, contracts, quasi-contracts, delicts, and quasi-delicts.

Must obligations arising from law be expressly provided?

Yes, obligations arising from law are not presumed; they must be expressly provided or at least implied by law.

What is a quasi-contract?

A quasi-contract is a legal fiction describing an obligation arising from lawful, voluntary, and unilateral acts to avoid unjust enrichment.

In what situation does Solutio indebiti occur?

It occurs when someone receives something that is not due and must return it.

Define Negotiorum gestio.

Negotiorum gestio is the unauthorized management of another's property without their consent to prevent loss.

When is a demand NOT required for delay in an obligation to exist?

A demand is not required when the law or the contract expressly provides otherwise.

Under what conditions does a fortuitous event exempt a debtor from liability?

The event must be independent of human will and be unforeseeable or unavoidable.

Does a fortuitous event exempt a debtor if the obligation involves a generic thing?

No, based on the principle of genus nunquam perit (the genus never perishes).

What is the difference between a joint and a solidary obligation?

In a joint obligation, each debtor is liable only for a proportionate share, whereas in a solidary obligation, each debtor is liable for the entire debt.

At what point does the right to the fruits of a determinate thing accrue to the creditor?

The right to the fruits accrues from the time the obligation to deliver the thing arises, per Art. $1164$.

What is the effect of Confusion (merger) in an obligation?

An obligation is extinguished when the characters of debtor and creditor are merged in the same person.

What are the requisites for legal compensation?

Both debts must be due, liquidated, demandable, and consist of money or fungible things of the same kind and quality.

What occurs during Novation?

Novation requires the termination of an old obligation and the creation of a new one to replace it.

Define the term Mora accipiendi.

Mora accipiendi is the delay of the creditor in accepting the debtor's valid performance.

What is the legal maxim 'Nemo tenetur ad impossibile'?

It translates to 'no one is bound to do the impossible.'

Which judicial remedy allows a creditor to rescind contracts entered into by a debtor to defraud them?

Accion pauliana (or rescissory action for fraudulent conveyances).

What are the three essential elements of a contract?

Consent, object, and cause.

What is the 'Autonomy of contracts' principle?

Parties may stipulate anything provided it is not contrary to law, morals, or public policy.

What constitutes a 'Real' contract?

A contract that is perfected only upon the delivery of the object, such as deposit, pledge, or commodatum.

How is a 'Consensual' contract perfected?

It is perfected by mere consent.

What is an 'Absolutely Simulated' contract?

A contract where the parties do not intend to be bound at all, rendering it void.

What is the effect of 'Relativity of contracts'?

Contracts are generally binding only between the parties, their assigns, and their heirs.

Define 'Dolo causante' (Causal Fraud).

Fraud used by one party to induce the other to enter into a contract, which renders the contract voidable.

What is the purpose of the 'Reformation' of a contract?

It is a process where a court amends a written instrument to reflect the true intention of the parties when it was not expressed due to mistake, fraud, or inequitable conduct.

What is the prescriptive period for an action to annul a voidable contract?

The action prescribes in $4$ years.

What is the 'Statute of Frauds'?

A rule requiring certain contracts (like the sale of real property or personal property over $500$ pesos) to be in writing to be enforceable.

Define 'Pacta sunt servanda'.

A Latin maxim meaning 'agreements must be kept.'

In a contract of sale, what happens in a 'Double Sale' of immovable property?

Ownership goes to the person who in good faith first recorded the sale in the Registry of Property.

Under the Recto Law (Art. $1484$), what happens if a seller forecloses a chattel mortgage on personal property sold in installments?

The seller is barred from recovering any deficiency from the buyer.

What is 'Earnest Money' (arras)?

It is considered part of the purchase price and serves as proof of the perfection of a contract of sale.

Define the seller's right of 'Stoppage in transitu'.

The right of an unpaid seller to resume possession of goods while they are in transit if the buyer becomes insolvent.

What is the 'Caveat Emptor' doctrine?

A principle meaning 'let the buyer beware.'

What is 'Accion redhibitoria'?

An action filed by a buyer to rescind a sale due to hidden (redhibitory) defects in the thing sold.

What is 'Pacto de retro'?

A stipulation in a sale where the seller reserves the right to repurchase the property within a certain period.

What is the default prescriptive period for a written contract?

The period is $10$ years according to Art. $1144$.

In a sale of animals, what is the redhibitory action period for hidden defects?

The action must be filed within $40$ days from delivery.

What is 'Accion quanti minoris'?

An action for the proportionate reduction of the price due to hidden defects in a sale.

Does ownership pass to the buyer in a 'Contract to Sell' upon delivery?

No, ownership passes only upon full payment of the price.

When is the risk of loss transferred to the buyer in a contract of sale?

Generally, risk of loss passes to the buyer upon delivery, following the principle 'res perit domino'.