CHAPTER 3
DIFFERENT KINDS OF OBLIGATIONS
Art. 1179. Every obligation whose
performance does not depend upon a future or uncertain event, or upon
a past event unknown to the parties, is demandable at once.
Every obligation which contains a
resolutory condition shall also be demandable, without prejudice to
the effects of the happening of the event. (1113)
Art. 1180. When the debtor binds
himself to pay when his means permit him to do so, the obligation
shall be deemed to be one with a period, subject to the provisions of
Article 1197. (n)
Art. 1181. In conditional obligations,
the acquisition of rights, as well as the extinguishment or loss of
those already acquired, shall depend upon the happening of the event
which constitutes the condition. (1114)
Art. 1182. When the fulfillment of the
condition depends upon the sole will of the debtor, the conditional
obligation shall be void. If it depends upon chance or upon the will
of a third person, the obligation shall take effect in conformity
with the provisions of this Code. (1115)
Art. 1183. Impossible conditions, those
contrary to good customs or public policy and those prohibited by law
shall annul the obligation which depends upon them. If the obligation
is divisible, that part thereof which is not affected by the
impossible or unlawful condition shall be valid.
The condition not to do an impossible
thing shall be considered as not having been agreed upon. (1116a)
Art. 1184. The condition that some
event happen at a determinate time shall extinguish the obligation as
soon as the time expires or if it has become indubitable that the
event will not take place. (1117)
Art. 1185. The condition that some
event will not happen at a determinate time shall render the
obligation effective from the moment the time indicated has elapsed,
or if it has become evident that the event cannot occur.
If no time has been fixed, the
condition shall be deemed fulfilled at such time as may have probably
been contemplated, bearing in mind the nature of the obligation.
(1118)
Art. 1186. The condition shall be
deemed fulfilled when the obligor voluntarily prevents its
fulfillment. (1119)
Art. 1187. The effects of a conditional
obligation to give, once the condition has been fulfilled, shall
retroact to the day of the constitution of the obligation.
Nevertheless, when the obligation imposes reciprocal prestations upon
the parties, the fruits and interests during the pendency of the
condition shall be deemed to have been mutually compensated. If the
obligation is unilateral, the debtor shall appropriate the fruits and
interests received, unless from the nature and circumstances of the
obligation it should be inferred that the intention of the person
constituting the same was different.
In obligations to do and not to do, the
courts shall determine, in each case, the retroactive effect of the
condition that has been complied with. (1120)
Art. 1188. The creditor may, before the
fulfillment of the condition, bring the appropriate actions for the
preservation of his right.
The debtor may recover what during the
same time he has paid by mistake in case of a suspensive condition.
(1121a)
Art. 1189. When the conditions have
been imposed with the intention of suspending the efficacy of an
obligation to give, the following rules shall be observed in case of
the improvement, loss or deterioration of the thing during the
pendency of the condition:
(1) If the thing is lost without the
fault of the debtor, the obligation shall be extinguished;
(2) If the thing is lost through the
fault of the debtor, he shall be obliged to pay damages; it is
understood that the thing is lost when it perishes, or goes out of
commerce, or disappears in such a way that its existence is unknown
or it cannot be recovered;
(3) When the thing deteriorates without
the fault of the debtor, the impairment is to be borne by the
creditor;
(4) If it deteriorates through the
fault of the debtor, the creditor may choose between the rescission
of the obligation and its fulfillment, with indemnity for damages in
either case;
(5) If the thing is improved by its
nature, or by time, the improvement shall inure to the benefit of the
creditor;
(6) If it is improved at the expense of
the debtor, he shall have no other right than that granted to the
usufructuary. (1122)
Art. 1190. When the conditions have for
their purpose the extinguishment of an obligation to give, the
parties, upon the fulfillment of said conditions, shall return to
each other what they have received.
In case of the loss, deterioration or
improvement of the thing, the provisions which, with respect to the
debtor, are laid down in the preceding article shall be applied to
the party who is bound to return.
As for the obligations to do and not to
do, the provisions of the second paragraph of Article 1187 shall be
observed as regards the effect of the extinguishment of the
obligation. (1123)
Art. 1191. The power to rescind
obligations is implied in reciprocal ones, in case one of the
obligors should not comply with what is incumbent upon him.
The injured party may choose between
the fulfillment and the rescission of the obligation, with the
payment of damages in either case. He may also seek rescission, even
after he has chosen fulfillment, if the latter should become
impossible.
The court shall decree the rescission
claimed, unless there be just cause authorizing the fixing of a
period.
This is understood to be without
prejudice to the rights of third persons who have acquired the thing,
in accordance with Articles 1385 and 1388 and the Mortgage Law.
(1124)
Art. 1192. In case both parties have
committed a breach of the obligation, the liability of the first
infractor shall be equitably tempered by the courts. If it cannot be
determined which of the parties first violated the contract, the same
shall be deemed extinguished, and each shall bear his own damages.
(n)
SECTION 2. - Obligations with a Period
Art. 1193. Obligations for whose
fulfillment a day certain has been fixed, shall be demandable only
when that day comes.
Obligations with a resolutory period
take effect at once, but terminate upon arrival of the day certain.
A day certain is understood to be that
which must necessarily come, although it may not be known when.
If the uncertainty consists in whether
the day will come or not, the obligation is conditional, and it shall
be regulated by the rules of the preceding Section. (1125a)
Art. 1194. In case of loss,
deterioration or improvement of the thing before the arrival of the
day certain, the rules in Article 1189 shall be observed. (n)
Art. 1195. Anything paid or delivered
before the arrival of the period, the obligor being unaware of the
period or believing that the obligation has become due and
demandable, may be recovered, with the fruits and interests. (1126a)
Art. 1196. Whenever in an obligation a
period is designated, it is presumed to have been established for the
benefit of both the creditor and the debtor, unless from the tenor of
the same or other circumstances it should appear that the period has
been established in favor of one or of the other. (1127)
Art. 1197. If the obligation does not
fix a period, but from its nature and the circumstances it can be
inferred that a period was intended, the courts may fix the duration
thereof.
The courts shall also fix the duration
of the period when it depends upon the will of the debtor.
In every case, the courts shall
determine such period as may under the circumstances have been
probably contemplated by the parties. Once fixed by the courts, the
period cannot be changed by them. (1128a)
Art. 1198. The debtor shall lose every
right to make use of the period:
(1) When after the obligation has been
contracted, he becomes insolvent, unless he gives a guaranty or
security for the debt;
(2) When he does not furnish to the
creditor the guaranties or securities which he has promised;
(3) When by his own acts he has
impaired said guaranties or securities after their establishment, and
when through a fortuitous event they disappear, unless he immediately
gives new ones equally satisfactory;
(4) When the debtor violates any
undertaking, in consideration of which the creditor agreed to the
period;
(5) When the debtor attempts to
abscond. (1129a)
SECTION 3. - Alternative Obligations
Art. 1199. A person alternatively bound
by different prestations shall completely perform one of them.
The creditor cannot be compelled to
receive part of one and part of the other undertaking. (1131)
Art. 1200. The right of choice belongs
to the debtor, unless it has been expressly granted to the creditor.
The debtor shall have no right to
choose those prestations which are impossible, unlawful or which
could not have been the object of the obligation. (1132)
Art. 1201. The choice shall produce no
effect except from the time it has been communicated. (1133)
Art. 1202. The debtor shall lose the
right of choice when among the prestations whereby he is
alternatively bound, only one is practicable. (1134)
Art. 1203. If through the creditor's
acts the debtor cannot make a choice according to the terms of the
obligation, the latter may rescind the contract with damages. (n)
Art. 1204. The creditor shall have a
right to indemnity for damages when, through the fault of the debtor,
all the things which are alternatively the object of the obligation
have been lost, or the compliance of the obligation has become
impossible.
The indemnity shall be fixed taking as
a basis the value of the last thing which disappeared, or that of the
service which last became impossible.
Damages other than the value of the
last thing or service may also be awarded. (1135a)
Art. 1205. When the choice has been
expressly given to the creditor, the obligation shall cease to be
alternative from the day when the selection has been communicated to
the debtor.
Until then the responsibility of the
debtor shall be governed by the following rules:
(1) If one of the things is lost
through a fortuitous event, he shall perform the obligation by
delivering that which the creditor should choose from among the
remainder, or that which remains if only one subsists;
(2) If the loss of one of the things
occurs through the fault of the debtor, the creditor may claim any of
those subsisting, or the price of that which, through the fault of
the former, has disappeared, with a right to damages;
(3) If all the things are lost through
the fault of the debtor, the choice by the creditor shall fall upon
the price of any one of them, also with indemnity for damages.
The same rules shall be applied to
obligations to do or not to do in case one, some or all of the
prestations should become impossible. (1136a)
Art. 1206. When only one prestation has
been agreed upon, but the obligor may render another in substitution,
the obligation is called facultative.
The loss or deterioration of the thing
intended as a substitute, through the negligence of the obligor, does
not render him liable. But once the substitution has been made, the
obligor is liable for the loss of the substitute on account of his
delay, negligence or fraud. (n)
SECTION 4. - Joint and Solidary
Obligations
Art. 1207. The concurrence of two or
more creditors or of two or more debtors in one and the same
obligation does not imply that each one of the former has a right to
demand, or that each one of the latter is bound to render, entire
compliance with the prestation. There is a solidary liability only
when the obligation expressly so states, or when the law or the
nature of the obligation requires solidarity. (1137a)
Art. 1208. If from the law, or the
nature or the wording of the obligations to which the preceding
article refers the contrary does not appear, the credit or debt shall
be presumed to be divided into as many shares as there are creditors
or debtors, the credits or debts being considered distinct from one
another, subject to the Rules of Court governing the multiplicity of
suits. (1138a)
Art. 1209. If the division is
impossible, the right of the creditors may be prejudiced only by
their collective acts, and the debt can be enforced only by
proceeding against all the debtors. If one of the latter should be
insolvent, the others shall not be liable for his share. (1139)
Art. 1210. The indivisibility of an
obligation does not necessarily give rise to solidarity. Nor does
solidarity of itself imply indivisibility. (n)
Art. 1211. Solidarity may exist
although the creditors and the debtors may not be bound in the same
manner and by the same periods and conditions. (1140)
Art. 1212. Each one of the solidary
creditors may do whatever may be useful to the others, but not
anything which may be prejudicial to the latter. (1141a)
Art. 1213. A solidary creditor cannot
assign his rights without the consent of the others. (n)
Art. 1214. The debtor may pay any one
of the solidary creditors; but if any demand, judicial or
extrajudicial, has been made by one of them, payment should be made
to him. (1142a)
Art. 1215. Novation, compensation,
confusion or remission of the debt, made by any of the solidary
creditors or with any of the solidary debtors, shall extinguish the
obligation, without prejudice to the provisions of Article 1219.
The creditor who may have executed any
of these acts, as well as he who collects the debt, shall be liable
to the others for the share in the obligation corresponding to them.
(1143)
Art. 1216. The creditor may proceed
against any one of the solidary debtors or some or all of them
simultaneously. The demand made against one of them shall not be an
obstacle to those which may subsequently be directed against the
others, so long as the debt has not been fully collected. (1144a)
Art. 1217. Payment made by one of the
solidary debtors extinguishes the obligation. If two or more solidary
debtors offer to pay, the creditor may choose which offer to accept.
He who made the payment may claim from
his co-debtors only the share which corresponds to each, with the
interest for the payment already made. If the payment is made before
the debt is due, no interest for the intervening period may be
demanded.
When one of the solidary debtors
cannot, because of his insolvency, reimburse his share to the debtor
paying the obligation, such share shall be borne by all his
co-debtors, in proportion to the debt of each. (1145a)
Art. 1218. Payment by a solidary debtor
shall not entitle him to reimbursement from his co-debtors if such
payment is made after the obligation has prescribed or become
illegal. (n)
Art. 1219. The remission made by the
creditor of the share which affects one of the solidary debtors does
not release the latter from his responsibility towards the
co-debtors, in case the debt had been totally paid by anyone of them
before the remission was effected. (1146a)
Art. 1220. The remission of the whole
obligation, obtained by one of the solidary debtors, does not entitle
him to reimbursement from his co-debtors. (n)
Art. 1221. If the thing has been lost
or if the prestation has become impossible without the fault of the
solidary debtors, the obligation shall be extinguished.
If there was fault on the part of any
one of them, all shall be responsible to the creditor, for the price
and the payment of damages and interest, without prejudice to their
action against the guilty or negligent debtor.
If through a fortuitous event, the
thing is lost or the performance has become impossible after one of
the solidary debtors has incurred in delay through the judicial or
extrajudicial demand upon him by the creditor, the provisions of the
preceding paragraph shall apply. (1147a)
Art. 1222. A solidary debtor may, in
actions filed by the creditor, avail himself of all defenses which
are derived from the nature of the obligation and of those which are
personal to him, or pertain to his own share. With respect to those
which personally belong to the others, he may avail himself thereof
only as regards that part of the debt for which the latter are
responsible. (1148a)
SECTION 5. - Divisible and Indivisible
Obligations
Art. 1223. The divisibility or
indivisibility of the things that are the object of obligations in
which there is only one debtor and only one creditor does not alter
or modify the provisions of Chapter 2 of this Title. (1149)
Art. 1224. A joint indivisible
obligation gives rise to indemnity for damages from the time anyone
of the debtors does not comply with his undertaking. The debtors who
may have been ready to fulfill their promises shall not contribute to
the indemnity beyond the corresponding portion of the price of the
thing or of the value of the service in which the obligation
consists. (1150)
Art. 1225. For the purposes of the
preceding articles, obligations to give definite things and those
which are not susceptible of partial performance shall be deemed to
be indivisible.
When the obligation has for its object
the execution of a certain number of days of work, the accomplishment
of work by metrical units, or analogous things which by their nature
are susceptible of partial performance, it shall be divisible.
However, even though the object or
service may be physically divisible, an obligation is indivisible if
so provided by law or intended by the parties.
In obligations not to do, divisibility
or indivisibility shall be determined by the character of the
prestation in each particular case. (1151a)
SECTION 6. - Obligations with a Penal
Clause
Art. 1226. In obligations with a penal
clause, the penalty shall substitute the indemnity for damages and
the payment of interests in case of noncompliance, if there is no
stipulation to the contrary. Nevertheless, damages shall be paid if
the obligor refuses to pay the penalty or is guilty of fraud in the
fulfillment of the obligation.
The penalty may be enforced only when
it is demandable in accordance with the provisions of this Code.
(1152a)
Art. 1227. The debtor cannot exempt
himself from the performance of the obligation by paying the penalty,
save in the case where this right has been expressly reserved for
him. Neither can the creditor demand the fulfillment of the
obligation and the satisfaction of the penalty at the same time,
unless this right has been clearly granted him. However, if after the
creditor has decided to require the fulfillment of the obligation,
the performance thereof should become impossible without his fault,
the penalty may be enforced. (1153a)
Art. 1228. Proof of actual damages
suffered by the creditor is not necessary in order that the penalty
may be demanded. (n)
Art. 1229. The judge shall equitably
reduce the penalty when the principal obligation has been partly or
irregularly complied with by the debtor. Even if there has been no
performance, the penalty may also be reduced by the courts if it is
iniquitous or unconscionable. (1154a)
Art. 1230. The nullity of the penal
clause does not carry with it that of the principal obligation.
The nullity of the principal obligation
carries with it that of the penal clause. (1155)
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