Nature and Effect of Obligations: Specific vs. Generic Thing

Nature and Effect of Obligations

Specific vs. Generic Thing

• Specific/Determinate: A thing that is particularly designated or physically segregated from others of the same kind, cannot be substituted with another without creditor's consent (Art. 1244 of the Civil Code).
• Generic/Indeterminate: Refers only to a class or genus, cannot be pointed out with particularity, debtor can give anything of the same class as long as it is of the same kind.

Duties of a Debtor in Obligation to Give a Determinate Thing

• Preserve the thing with proper diligence of a good father of a family or that diligence required by law or stipulation of parties.
• Deliver the fruits of the thing:
  • Natural fruits: Spontaneous products of the soil and the young and animal products (e.g., grass and trees on lands that grow without human labor).
  • Industrial fruits: Produced by lands of any kind because of human labor (e.g., rice, vegetables, bananas, and all products of land brought about by human labor).
  • Civil fruits: Derived by a juridical relation (e.g., rents and similar income).
• Deliver the accessions and accessories:
  • Accessions: Fruits of the thing or additions to or improvements upon the thing (e.g., house on the land, rent of a building, air conditioner in a car, and dividends accruing from shares of stock).
  • Accessories: Things joined to or included with the principal thing for the latter's embellishment, better use, or completion (e.g., the frame of a picture, the machinery of a factory, and the diamond of a ring).
• Deliver the thing itself.
• Answer for damages in case of non-fulfillment or breach of the obligation.

Duties of a Debtor in Obligation to Deliver a Generic Thing

• Deliver a thing of the quality intended by the parties considering the purpose of the obligation and other circumstances (Art. 1246, Civil Code).
• Liable for damages in case of fraud, negligence, or delay in performing his obligation or contravention of the tenor thereof (Art. 1170, Civil Code).

Fraud vs. Negligence

• Fraud: The deliberate or intentional evasion of the normal fulfillment of an obligation.
• Negligence: Any voluntary act or omission, there being no bad faith or malice, which prevents fulfilling an obligation.

Delay

• Delay/default: The failure to perform an obligation on time which failure constitutes a breach of the obligation.
• Kinds of Delay:
  • Mora solvendi: The delay on the part of the debtor to fulfill his obligation.
  • Mora accipiendi: The delay on the part of the creditor to accept the performance of the obligation.
  • Compensatio morae: The delay of the obligors in reciprocal obligations.
• Requisites of Delay:
  • Failure of the debtor to perform his obligation.

This quiz explores the distinction between specific/determinate and generic/indeterminate things in the context of obligations. Learn about the characteristics and implications of each type of thing in relation to fulfilling obligations as outlined in the Civil Code.