Professional Documents
Culture Documents
CHAPTER 2
NATURE AND EFFECT OF
OBLIGATIONS
ART. 1164. The creditor has a right to the fruits of the thing
from the time the obligation to deliver it arises. However, he shall
acquire no real right over it until the same has been delivered to
him. (1095)
Art. 1168. When the obligation consists in not doing, and the
obligor does what has been forbidden him, it shall also be undone at
his expense. (1099a)
of the time and of the place. When negligence shows bad faith, the
provisions of Articles 1171 and 2201, paragraph 2, shall apply.
If the law or contract does not state the diligence which is to be
observed in the performance, that which is expected of a good father
of a family shall be required. (1104a)
Generic or indeterminate
Specific or determinate thing
thing
No other thing of its kind exists; Other things of the same kind exist;
hence, it is not replaceable if lost. hence, it is replaceable if lost.
EXAMPLES :
the dress I wore on my 18th birthday a blue floral Kamiseta dress
my 5-year old german shepherd a 5-year old german shepherd
the blue car with plate no. ABC-123 a 2010 Toyota Fortuner silver car
the P1,000 bill Alex paid for the shabu the amount of P1,000
My brothers girlfriend a Filipino girl with blond hair
obligation?
In Example 1 above, if the goat dies before July 15, 2011 due to
severe dehydration because it was not given a drink by D or his
caretake for one whole week, C can hold D liable for damages.
(1) Natural fruits are the spontaneous products of the soil, and
the young and other products of animals. (Art. 442)
Examples:
trees and plants that grow naturally from the soil without
the intervention of human labor
the kid delivered by a goat
the milk produced by a cow
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Arts. 1163-1178 NATURE AND EFFECT OF OBLIGATIONS
Example 3 : D has a land planted with 250 mango trees due for
harvest on June 6, 2011. On June 5, 2011, D promised to deliver his land to
C without specifying the date when delivery is to be made.
Q: Who has the right to harvest the mango fruits?
A: In this case, since there is no specific delivery date in the obligation,
C can immediately demand the delivery of the land at the time that the
promise is made. In addition, C will have the right to harvest all the fruits
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Arts. 1163-1178 NATURE AND EFFECT OF OBLIGATIONS
from the mango plantations existing at the time that D is obliged to deliver the
land.
(C) T o d e l i v e r t h e a c c e s s i o n s a n d
accessories of the thing
obligation?
Remember that it is only when the debtor incurs legal delay that
he will be liable for damages to the creditor under Article 1170.
(a) When the law specifically provides that the debtor will be guilty of
legal delay even without demand from the creditor. (Art.
1169, par. 2[1])
Example 15: Our internal revenue laws provide that an individual taxpayer
who fails to pay his income tax on or before April 15 of every tax year is
already considered in default and liable for interest and penalties even without
demand from the government.
(b) When the obligation expressly provides that the debtor will be
considered in legal delay if the debtor fails to perform the
obligation on maturity date of the obligation, even if the creditor
does not make a demand for its performance. (Art.
1169, par. 2[1])
Example 16: In Example 14 above, let us assume that D and C also
agreed that if D fails to pay his P100,000 loan to C on June 1, 2012, D will
already be considered in default, and will be liable for the 5% per month
penalty interest even without need of any demand from C. In such case, if D
tenders payment to C only on August 1, 2012, D will already be liable to pay a
1 month penalty interest in the amount of P5,000 even if C did not demand for
the payment of the obligation.
because delivery of the balloons on a date other than the party date will
render the delivery useless.
grounds for which the debtor may be held liable for the payment of
damages by the injured party under Article 1170?
2 Art. 1390(2).
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Arts. 1163-1178 NATURE AND EFFECT OF OBLIGATIONS
Negligence (culpa)
fails in this duty resulting in the spoiling of the goods, he will be considered
guilty of negligence.
(b) Circumstances of the person EXAMPLE: The obligation of the
debtor
(c) Circumstances of time EXAMPLE: The obligation of the
(d) Circumstances of the place EXAMPLE: A driver who drives at 80
kilometers per hour in the North Luzon Express Way is not guilty of
negligence because his speed is allowed in the highway. However, if a driver
drives at 50 kilometers per hour in a school zone and runs over a child, he will
be considered negligent taking into consideration the circumstances of the
place which require him to drive at a restricted speed.
Illustrative Example 24: Mang Canor, a taxi driver was driving beyond the
speed limit along a school zone. It was too late when he caught sight of a sixth
grader, Paula, who was crossing the pedestrian lane. Paula was sideswiped by the
taxi. While trying to avoid Paula, the taxi slammed to a nearby acacia. As a result,
Mang Canors passenger, Benjo, sustained injuries.
Breakdown of Facts :
1. Mang Canor is definitely guilty of negligence for driving beyond the
speed limit specified by law in a school zone.
2. As a result of his negligence, Paula (a pedestrian) and Benjo (the
taxicabs passenger) sustains injuries.
Issues:
1. Who is liable for damages for the injuries sustained by Paula?
2. Who is liable for damages for the injuries sustained by Benjo?
Resolution:
1. There is no pre-existing contractual relation between Paula and the taxi
driver or the owner of the taxicab company. Hence, the negligence of the
driver gives rise to culpa aquiliana. This will be the source of the liability for
damages of the driver and operator to Paula.
2. After Benjo boarded the taxi, a contract of carriage was already
perfected between Benjo (passenger) and the owner of the taxicab company.
Under this contract, the taxicab company obliges itself to bring the passenger
safely to its destination. In this case, the taxicab company is guilty of
contravention or breach of its contract of carriage with Benjo because of the
negligence of its authorized driver, Mang Canor. Hence, Benjo can file an
action for damages for contractual negligence against the taxicab company
for the injuries sustained by him arising from the negligence of Mang Canor
which is also considered the negligence of the taxicab company.
3. The same negligent act of Mang Canor may also be the basis for filing
an action for damages based on criminal negligence. This is because Mang
Canors act of negligently driving beyond the speed limit in a school zone also
resulted in a crime known as Reckless Imprudence (Art. 365, Revised Penal
Code). Hence, aside from the action for civil negligence, Paula can also file
an action for criminal negligence against Mang Canor for Reckless
Imprudence Resulting in Physical Injuries. In the same manner, Benjo the
passenger can also file an action against Mang Canor claiming for damages
arising from criminal negligence in a similar case for Reckless Imprudence
Resulting in Physical Injuries.
(a) If the injured partys own negligence was the immediate and
proximate or direct cause of his injury, he cannot recover
damages. (Art. 2179)
Example 25: At 10:00 oclock in the evening, Dionisio was run over by a car
that was travelling at a moderate speed along the South Luzon Express Way
(SLEX). Dionisio suffered serious injuries and filed an action against the owner of
the car.
Question : Is the owner of the car liable for damages to Dionisio?
Answer: In this case, Dionisios act of crossing the highway in the SLEX is an act
of gross negligence because pedestrians are not allowed anywhere in the area.
No negligence can be attributed to the driver of the car who was travelling at
moderate speed, and could not have foreseen the presence of a pedestrian in the
middle of a high road at that time of the night.
Examples:
(a) Acts of God
A singer fails to sing at the concert due to typhoid fever. Illness is a
fortuitous event which will exempt the debtor from liability for damages
for non-performance of her obligation under her contract with the
producers of the concert.
D promised to deliver his car to C on June 30, 2011. D fails to deliver
the car because it sank in a flash flood during a typhoon on June 28,
2011. Ds obligation to C is now extinguished because the loss of the car
and the reason for non-delivery was due to a fortuitous event.
(b) Acts of Man
D promised to deliver his car to C on June 30, 2011. D fails to deliver
the car because it was carnapped while parked outside his home on
June 28, 2011. The car was never recovered. Ds obligation to C is now
extinguished because the loss of the car and the reason for non-delivery
was due to a fortuitous event.
Example 29: D stole the goat of C. Later, D was convicted of the crime
of theft and was ordered by the court to return the goat to C. While on his
way to the farm of C to return the goat, the goat was run over by a reckless
driver of a ten-wheeler truck.
Question : Is the obligation of D to deliver the goat to C now extinguished?
Answer: NO. Under Article 1268, D is still liable for damages to C. This is
because the obligation of D in this case arises from his criminal liability for
the crime of theft.
The parties may stipulate in their contract that the debtor will still
be liable for damages even if his failure to perform the obligation was
due to a fortuitous event.
Example 32: D promised to deliver to C a blue 2009 BMW car with plate
number ABC-123 on June 30, 2011. On June 25, 2011, a falling meteorite
from space crashed onto the property of D and completely burned the car to
ashes.
Question 1 : Is the obligation of D to deliver the car to C now extinguished?
Answer: YES. Since the obligation is a specific real obligation, the loss of
the specific thing by virtue of a fortuitous event completely extinguishes the
debtors obligation. He is then completely released from any kind of liability
to the creditor.
Question 2 : What if the cause of the loss of the car was not due to a falling
meteorite? What if the car was completely wrecked on June 25, 2011 after D
drove it while under the influence of alcohol? Will the obligation of D to
deliver the car to C be extinguished due to loss of the car before its delivery
date?
Answer: This time the answer is NO. Even if the obligation is to deliver a
specific thing which was completely wrecked beyond repair before its agreed
delivery of June 30, 2011, the debtor D will still be liable to C for damages for
failing to exercise due diligence.
Note, however, that under Article 1956, in order for the creditor to
be able to recover interest on a loan or forbearance of money, the
payment of interest must be expressly stipulated between the parties
and put down in writing.
Answer: C will have the right to collect only P100,000 - the principal amount
of the loan. D cannot be compelled to pay the P20,000 amount due as
interest because the parties agreement with respect to payment of interest in
this case was not put down in writing. The agreement was merely verbal.
What is a presumption?
A presumption is an inference as to the existence of a fact
not actually known, arising from its usual connection with another
which is known.
Example 34: D failed to file his income tax return on April 15, 2001. As a
result, the BIR charged him interest and penalties. Ds defense is that he is
not aware that the due date for filing his return is on April 15 of every tax
year.
In this case, D cannot evade the payment of interest and penalties by
putting up the defense that he was not aware of the existence of the
provision in the Philippine Tax Code prescribing the deadline for the filing of
income tax returns. There is a conclusive presumption that everyone knows
the law. Hence, D will not be allowed to introduce evidence to rebut this
presumption, and prove that he did not in fact know the existence of that law.
Example 37: D owes C P5M due on June 30, 2011. F owes D P2M due
on July 10, 2011. D has a house worth P4M, a car worth P1.5M, and a rolex
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Arts. 1163-1178 NATURE AND EFFECT OF OBLIGATIONS
watch worth P500,000. On June 15, 2011, D sold his house to B for P4M.
On June 30, 2011, D failed to pay his obligation because he was already
bankrupt as of that date.
Question : What are the legal remedies available to C?
Answer:
1. An action for specific performance to compel D to pay his obligation in
this case will be unavailing considering that D is already bankrupt.
2. C can, however, ask the court to attach the remaining properties of D
the car worth P1.5M, and the rolex watch worth P500,000. After these
properties are sold at public auction to pay for the obligation, there still
remains a balance in the obligation in the sum of P3M.
3. Since C has still a P3M collectible, he can ask the court to order F to
pay his P2M obligation to C instead of paying it to D. After the court orders
the payment, only P1M of the obligation remains.
4. Since C has no other way of recovering the balance of his credit, C
can now ask the court to rescind or cancel the contract of sale between D
and B over the house on the ground that the sale was made by D to defraud
C and to evade the performance of his obligation. Once the sale is rescinded
and reverted back to the ownership of D, it may be sold at public auction
under the courts processes so that part of the proceeds may be used to
cover the balance of the obligation in the amount of P1M.
Example 40: Under our Election laws, the right to hold office of an
elective official is not transmitted to his heirs upon his death. The law
provides for the procedure for succession to office.