Obligations To Do and Not To Do

Article 1167: Obligations to Do

• Applies when a debtor fails to perform, performs contrary to the obligation's terms, or performs poorly.
• If the debtor fails to comply, the creditor can have the obligation performed by themselves or another at the debtor's expense, unless personal considerations are involved.
• The creditor can recover damages.
• If performance is not per the terms or is substandard, the court may order it undone, if possible.
• Specific performance is not typically ordered in personal obligations to do to prevent involuntary servitude.
• If a person's qualifications are key to the obligation (e.g., singing), breach leads to damages.

Article 1168: Obligations Not to Do

• Focuses on abstaining from an action, where compliance means not doing the forbidden act.
• There can be no delay.
• Typically, the remedy is undoing the forbidden act plus damages.
• If undoing is not possible due to physical or legal reasons, rights acquired by third parties in good faith, etc., the remedy is damages.

Article 1171: Responsibility Arising from Fraud

• Responsibility for fraud applies to all obligations.
• Courts cannot reduce damages for fraud.
• Waivers for future fraud are void.
• Waivers for past fraud are valid as acts of generosity.
• Waivers for past fraud must be clear.

Article 1172: Responsibility Arising from Negligence

• Debtors are liable for damages resulting from their negligence.
• Courts have discretion in setting damages, negligence depends on circumstances/ no intention to cause injury.
• The fault of one party may cancel out or neutralize the negligence of the other.
• Contractual Negligence (culpa contractual): Negligence in contracts resulting in their breach.
• Civil Negligence (culpa aquiliana): Negligence as the source of obligation outside a contract; also called tort or quasi-delict.
• Criminal Negligence (culpa criminal): Negligence resulting in a crime.

Article 1173: Meaning of Fault or Negligence

• Negligence is failing to protect another's interests with the required care, precaution, and vigilance.
• Factors include the nature of the obligation, circumstances of the person, time, and place.

Article 1174: Meaning of Fortuitous Event

• A fortuitous event is unforeseen or inevitable.
• It is independent of the debtor's will and makes fulfilling the obligation impossible.
• Acts of man are independent of the obligor's will, like war, fire, robbery, etc.
• Acts of God are totally independent, such as earthquakes and floods.
• Fortuitous event and force majeure are identical under the law.
• Ordinary fortuitous events are common and foreseeable (e.g., rain).
• Extraordinary fortuitous events are uncommon and unforeseeable (e.g., earthquake).

Article 1176: Meaning of Presumption

• Presumption is inferring a fact based on its usual connection to a known fact.
• Receiving the principal without interest implies the interest has been paid.
• Receiving a later debt installment implies prior installments were paid.

Article 1177: Remedies to Creditors for Satisfaction of Claims

• Exact fulfillment (specific performance) with damages.
• Pursue the debtor's leviable property.
• Exercise the debtor's rights/actions (except personal ones).
• Rescind acts the debtor may have done to defraud them.

Article 1178: Transmissibility of Rights

• Rights from an obligation are transmissible, unless prohibited by law or stipulation.
• Exceptions include rights in partnership, agency, and commodatum.

Article 1179: Pure and Conditional Obligations

• Pure obligations are demandable at once, with no conditions or specific dates.
• Resolutory conditions are demandable, without prejudice.
• Conditional obligations depend on the fulfillment of a condition.
• A condition is a future, uncertain event that affects the obligation's effectivity or extinguishment.
• Suspensive conditions give rise to an obligation upon fulfillment.
• Resolutory conditions extinguish an existing obligation upon fulfillment.

Article 1180: Obligations with a Period

• A period is a future and certain event that determines when an obligation arises or is extinguished.
• If the debtor's means permit payment, obligation has a period, subject to article 1179.

Article 1181: Effect of Conditions

• Acquisition of rights depends on suspensive conditions being met.
• Loss of rights already acquired depends on resolutory conditions being met.

Article 1182: Classification of Conditions

• If fulfillment depends solely on the debtor's will, the obligation is void.
• If it depends on chance or a third person's will, the obligation takes effect.
• Expressed, implied, possible, potestative, causal, mixed, positive, negative, etc..

Article 1183: Impossible Conditions

• Impossible, illegal, or immoral conditions annul the obligation.
• Divisible obligations remain valid for unaffected parts.
• Conditions not to do impossible things are disregarded.

Article 1184: Positive Condition

• If an event must happen, obligations are extinguished when the time expires or the event cannot occur.

Article 1185: Negative Condition

• Stipulates some event will not happen.
• Obligations become effective once the specified time has passed, or if it's evident the event cannot occur.

Article 1186: Fulfillment of Conditions

• Conditions are deemed fulfilled if the obligor voluntarily prevents their fulfillment.
• Three Requisites: Condition is suspensive, obligor prevents fulfillment, and the obligor acts voluntarily.

Article 1187: Effects of Conditional Obligations

• For obligations to give, fulfillment retroacts to the day the obligation was constituted.
• Reciprocal obligations mutually compensate for fruits and interests during the condition.
• Unilateral obligations let the debtor keep fruits/interests, unless otherwise inferred.
• Courts determine the retroactive effect for obligations to do and not to do.

Article 1188: Creditor and Debtor actions before fulfillment

• Creditors can take action to preserve their rights.
• Debtors can recover mistaken payments in suspensive conditions.

Article 1189: Rules for improvement/loss/deterioration

• The obligation must be real
• The thing must be specific or determinate
• The obligation is subject to suspensive conditions
• The conditions is fulfilled
• The loss, deterioration, or improvement of the thing occurred

Article 1190: Extinguishment of an obligation

• The effects of a fulfilled resolutory condition.

Article 1191: Kinds of obligations

• Unilateral
• Bilateral - Reciprocal / Non-reciprocal

Article 1192: Breach of Obligation

• If both parties breach, the first infractor's liability is tempered.
• If the first violator is undeterminable, the contract is extinguished, and each bears their damages.