TITLE I (b) Negative personal obligation or obligation not (3) Breach of contract.

– A contract may be
OBLIGATIONS to do (which naturally includes obligations “not to give”). breached or violated by a party in whole or in part. A
(Arts. 1156 – 1304, Civil Code.) (See art. 1168.) breach of contract takes place when a party fails of
Sources of Obligations refuses to comply, without legal reason or justification,
Chapter 1- GENERAL PROVISIONS An obligation imposed on a person and the corresponding with his obligation under the contract as promised.
right granted to another must be rooted in at least any of Compliance in good faith
Article 1156. An obligation is a juridical necessity to give, the following sources: Compliance or performance in accordance with the
to do or not to do. (n) (1) Law. — When they are imposed by the law itself stipulations or terms of the contract oragreement.9 Good
Essential Requisites of an Obligation (2) Contracts. — When they arise from the faith and fair dealing must be observed to prevent one
An obligation as defined in Article 1156 is constituted stipulation of the parties (Art. 1306.) party from taking unfair advantage over the other.
upon the concurrence of the four (4) essential elements (3) Quasi-contracts. — When they arise from lawful, Evasion by a party of legitimate obligations after receiving
thereof, namely: voluntary and unilateral acts and which are enforceable to the benefits under the contract would constitute unjust
(1) A passive subject (called debtor or obligor) or the the end that no one shall be unjustly enriched or enrichment on his part.
person who is bound to the fulfillment of the obligation; benefited at the expense of another (Art. 2142.).In a Quasi-contractual obligations
he who has a duty; sense, these obligations may be considered as arising Article 1160 treats of obligations arising from quasi-
(2) An active subject (called creditor or obligee) or from law; contracts or contracts implied in law.
the person who (4) Crimes or acts or omissions punished by law. — A quasi-contract is that juridical relation resulting from
is entitled to demand the fulfillment of the obligation; he When they arise from civil liability which is the certain lawful, voluntary and unilateral acts by virtue of
who has a right; consequence of a criminal offense (Art. which the parties become bound to each other to the end
(3) Object or prestation (subject matter of the 1161.) that no one will be unjustly enriched or benefited at the
obligation) or the conduct required to be observed by the (5) Quasi-delicts or torts. — When they arise from expense of another. (Art. 2142.)
debtor. It may consist in giving, doing, or not doing. (See damage caused to another through an act or omission, Kinds of quasi-contracts
Art. 1232.).Without the prestation, there is nothing to there being fault or negligence, but no contractual The principal kinds of quasi-contracts are negotiorum
perform. In bilateral obligations (see Art. 1191.), the relation exists between the parties (Art. 2176.) gestio and solutio indebiti.
parties are reciprocally debtors and creditors; and Legal Obligations (1) Negotiorum gestio is the voluntary management
(4) A juridical or legal tie (also called efficient cause) Article 1158 refers to legal obligations or obligations of the property or affairs of another without the
or that which binds or connects the parties to the arising from law. They are not presumed because they are knowledge or consent of the latter.
obligation. The tie in an obligation can easily be considered a burden upon the obligor. They are the (Art. 2144.)
determined by knowing the source of the obligation. (Art. exception, not the rule. To be demandable, they must be (2) Solutio indebiti is the juridical relation which is
1157.) clearly set forth in the law, i.e., the Civil Code or special created when something is received when there
Kinds of Obligation According to Subject Matter laws. is no right to demand it and it was unduly
From the viewpoint of the subject matter, obligation may Contractual obligations delivered through mistake. (Art. 2154.)
either be: Article 1159 speaks of contractual obligations or
(1) Real obligation (obligation to give) or that in obligations arising from contracts or voluntary Solutio indebiti applies where:
which the subject matter is a thing which the obligor must agreements. (a) Payment is made when there exists no binding
deliver to the obligee; or (1) Binding force. — Obligations arising from relation between the payor, who has no duty to pay, and
(2) Personal obligation (obligation to do or not to contracts are governed primarily by the agreement of the the person who received the payment; and
do) or that in which the subject matter is an act to be contracting parties. (b) The payment is made through mistake11 and not
done or not to be done. (2) Requirements of a valid contract. - A contract is through liberality or some other cause.
There are thus two (2) kinds of personal valid (assuming all the essential elements are present, Art. Civil liability arising from crimes or delicts
obligation: 1318.) if it is not contrary to law, morals, good customs, This article deals with civil liability arising from crimes or
(a) Positive personal obligation or obligation to public order, and public policy. It is invalid or void if it is delicts.
do or to render service (see Art. 1167.); and contrary to law, morals, good customs, public order, or (1) The commission of an offense has a two-pronged
public policy. (Art. 1306.) effect: one, on the public as it breaches the social
 order and the other, upon the private victim as it would subsist in the same condition as it was when the
causes personal sufferings or injury, each of ART. 1163. Every person obliged to give something is obligation was contracted.
which is addressed, respectively, by the also obliged to take care of it with the proper diligence Different kinds of fruits
imposition of heavier punishment on the accused of a good father of a family, unless the law or the The fruits mentioned by the law refer to natural,
and by an award of additional damages to the stipulation of the parties requires another standard of industrial, and civil fruits.
victim. care. (1094a) (1) Natural fruits are the spontaneous products of the soil,
(2) Oftentimes, the commission of a crime causes Meaning of specific or determinate thing and the young and other products of animals, e.g., grass;
not only moral evil but also material damage. The above provision refers to an obligation to give a all trees and plants on lands produced without the
From this principle, the rule has been established specific or determinate thing. intervention of human labor.
that every person criminally liable for a felony17 A thing is said to be specific or determinate when it is (2) Industrial fruits are those produced by lands of any
is also civilly liable. particularly designated or physically segregated from all kind through cultivation or labor, e.g., sugar cane;
Scope of civil liability others of the same class. vegetables; rice; and all products of lands brought about
The extent of the civil liability arising from crimes is (Art. 1459.) by reason of human labor.
governed by Meaning of generic or indeterminate thing (3) Civil fruits are those derived by virtue of a juridical
the Revised Penal Code and the Civil Code.18 A thing is generic or indeterminate when it refers only to a relation, e.g., rents of buildings, price of leases of lands
This civil liability includes: class or genus to which it pertains and cannot be pointed and other property and the amount of perpetual or life
(1) Restitution; out with particularity. annuities or other similar income. (Art. 442.)
(2) Reparation for the damage caused; and Duties of debtor in obligation to give a determinate thing Remedies of creditor in real obligation
(3) Indemnification for consequential damages. (Art. They are: (1) In a specific real obligation (obligation to deliver a
104, Revised Penal Code.) (1) To preserve or take care of the thing due; determinate thing), the creditor may exercise the
Obligations arising from quasi-delicts (2) To deliver the fruits of the thing (see Art. 1164.); following remedies or rights in case the debtor fails to
The above provision treats of obligations arising from (3) To deliver its accessions and accessories (see Art. comply with his obligation:
quasi-delicts or torts. (see Arts. 217619 to 2194.) 1166.); (a) Demand specific performance or fulfillment (if it is still
A quasi-delict20 is an act or omission by a person (tort (4) To deliver the thing itself (see Arts. 1163, 1233, 1244; possible) of the obligation with a right to indemnity for
feasor) which causes damage to another in his person, as to kinds damages; or
property, or rights giving rise to an obligation to pay for of delivery, Arts. 1497 to 1501.); and (b) Demand rescission or cancellation (in certain cases) of
the damage done, there being fault or negligence but (5) To answer for damages in case of non-fulfillment or the obligation also with a right to recover damages (Art.
there is no pre-existing contractual relation between the breach. 1170.); or
parties.21 (Art. 2176.) (see Art. 1170.) (c) Demand the payment of damages only (see Art.
Requisites of quasi-delict Obligation to take care of the thing due 1170).Where it’s the only feasible remedy.
Before a person can be held liable for quasi-delict, the (1) Diligence of a good father of a family. — In obligations (2) A generic real obligation (obligation to deliver a
following requisites must be present: to give (real obligations), the obligor has the incidental generic thing), on the other hand, can be performed by a
(1) There must be an act or omission by the duty to take care of the thing due with the diligence of a third person since the object is expressed only according
defendant; good father of a family pending delivery. to its family or genus.
(2) There must be fault or negligence of the (2) Another standard of care. — However, if the law or the Meaning of accessions and accessories
defendant; stipulation of the parties provides for another standard of (1) Accessions are the fruits of, or additions to, or
(3) There must be damage caused to the plaintiff; care (slight or extraordinary diligence), said law or improvements upon, a thing (the principal), e.g., house or
(4) There must be a direct relation or connection of stipulation must prevail. (Art. 1163.) trees on a land; rents of a building; air conditioner in a
cause and effect between the act or omission and the (3) Factors to be considered. — The diligence required car; profits or dividends accruing from shares of stocks;
damage; and depends upon the nature of the obligation and etc.
(5) There is no pre-existing contractual relation between corresponds with the circumstances of the person, of the (2) Accessories are things joined to, or included with, the
the parties. time, and of the place. (Art. 1173.) principal thing for the latter’s embellishment, better use,
(4) Reason for debtor’s obligation. — The debtor must or completion, e.g., key of a house; frame of a picture;
Chapter 2 – NATURE AND EFFECT OF OBLIGATIONS exercise diligence to insure that the thing to be delivered
bracelet of a watch; machinery in a factory; bow of a (2) Mora accipiendi or the delay on the part of the (3) Compensatio morae. — The delay of the obligor
violin. creditor without cancels out the effects of the delay of the obligee and vice
Situations contemplated in Article 1167 justifi able reason to accept the performance of the versa. The net result is that there is no actionable default
Article 1167 refers to an obligation to do, i.e., to perform obligation; and on the part of both parties, such that as if neither one is
an act or render a service. It contemplates three (3) Compensatio morae or the delay of the obligors in guilty of delay.
situations: reciprocal obligations (like in sale), i.e., the delay of the When demand not necessary to put debtor in delay
(1) The debtor fails to perform an obligation to do; or obligor cancels the delay of the obligee, and vice versa. (1) When the obligation so provides.
(2) The debtor performs an obligation to do but contrary Requisites of delay or default by the debtor (2) When the law so provides.
to the terms thereof; or There are three conditions that must be present before (3) When time is of the essence.
(3) The debtor performs an obligation to do but in a poor mora solvendi can exist or its effects arise: (4) When demand would be useless.
manner. (1) Failure of the debtor to perform his (positive) (5) When there is performance by a party in reciprocal
Remedies of creditor in positive personal obligation obligation on the date agreed upon; obligations.
(1) If the debtor fails to comply with his obligation to do, (2) Demand (not mere reminder or notice) made by the Grounds for liability
the creditor has the right: creditor upon the debtor to fulfill, perform, or comply Article 1170 gives the four grounds for liability which may
(a) To have the obligation performed by himself, or by with his obligation which demand, may be either judicial entitle the injured party to damages (see Art. 2197.) for all
another unless personal considerations are involved, at (when a complaint is filed in court) or extra-judicial (when kinds of obligations regardless of their source, mentioned
the debtor’s expense; and made outside of court, orally or in writing); and in Article 1157, whether the obligations are real or
(b) To recover damages. (Art. 1170.) (3) Failure of the debtor to comply with such demand. personal (supra) It contemplates that the obligation was
(2) In case the obligation is done in contravention of the Effects of delay eventually performed but the obligor is guilty of breach
terms of the same or is poorly done, it may be ordered (by (1) Mora solvendi. — The following are the effects: thereof.
the court) that it be undone if it is still possible to undo (a) The debtor is guilty of breach of the obligation; Here, the breach of the obligation is voluntary; in Article
what was done. (b) He is liable for interest in case of obligations to pay 1174, it is involuntary.
Remedies of creditor in negative personal obligation money (Art. 2209) or damages in other obligations. (Art. (1) Fraud (deceit or dolo). — As used in Article 1170, it is
In an obligation not to do, the duty of the obligor is to 1170.) In the absence of extrajudicial demand, the the deliberate or intentional evasion of the normal
abstain from an act. Here, there is no specific interest shall commence from the filing of the complaint; fulfillment of an obligation. (See 8 Manresa 72.)
performance. The very obligation is fulfilled in not doing and (2) Negligence (fault or culpa). — It is any voluntary act or
what is forbidden. Hence, in this kind of obligation the (c) He is liable even for a fortuitous event when the omission, there being no malice, which prevents the
debtor cannot be guilty of delay. (Art. 1169.) obligation is to deliver a determinate thing. (Arts.1165, normal fulfillment of an obligation.7 (see Arts. 1173,
Meaning of delay 1170) However, if the debtor can prove that the loss 1174.)
The word delay, as used in the law, is not to be would have resulted just the same even if he had not (3) Delay (mora). — This has already been discussed
understood according to its meaning in common parlance. been in default, the court may equitably mitigate the under Article 1169 which determines the commencement
A distinction, therefore, should be made between damages. (Art.2215 [4]) of delay. It has been ruled that the delay in the
ordinary delay and legal delay (default or mora) in the (2) Mora accipiendi. — The effects are as follows: performance of the obligation under Article 1170 must be
performance of an obligation. (a) The creditor is guilty of breach of obligation; either malicious or negligent.
(1) Ordinary delay is merely the failure to perform an (b) He is liable for damages suffered, if any, by the debtor; (4) Contravention of the terms of the obligation. — This is
obligation on time. (c) He bears the risk of loss of the thing due (see Art. the violation of the terms and conditions stipulated in the
(2) Legal delay or default or mora is the failure to perform 1162.); obligation. The contravention must not be due to a
an obligation on time which failure constitutes a breach of (d) Where the obligation is to pay money, the debtor is fortuitous event or force majeure.
the obligation. not (Art. 1174).The unilateral act of terminating a contract
Kinds of delay (mora) liable for interest from the time of the creditor’s delay; without legal justification by a party makes him liable for
They are: and damages suffered by the other pursuant to Article 1170.
(1) Mora solvendi or the delay on the part of the debtor to (e) The debtor may release himself from the obligation by Recovery of damages for breach of contract or obligation
fulfi ll his obligation (to give or to do) by reason of a cause the consignation of the thing or sum due. (see Art. 1256.) Breach of contract is the failure without justifiable excuse
imputable to him; to comply with the terms of a contract. The breach may
be willful or done unintentionally. It has been defined as rights and obligations may be determined equitably under (3) Circumstances of time. — e.g., driving a car without
the failure, without legal excuse, to perform any promise the law prescribing unjust enrichment. No one shall enrich headlights at night is gross negligence but it does not by
which forms the whole or part of the contract. himself at the expense of another. itself constitute negligence when driving during the day;
(1) Measure of recoverable damages Kinds of negligence according to source of obligation and
(2) Contractual interests of obligee or promisee, remedy Culpa or negligence may be understood in three different (4) Circumstances of the place. — e.g., driving at 60
serves to preserve. senses. kilometers per hour on the highway is permissible but
(a) Expectation interest, which is his interest in They are: driving at the same rate of speed in Quezon Boulevard,
having the (1) Contractual negligence (culpa contractual) or Manila, when traffic is always heavy is gross recklessness.
benefit of his bargain by being put in as good a position as negligence in contracts resulting in their breach Article
he would have been had the contract been performed; or 1172 refers to “culpa contractual.”
(b) Reliance interest, which is his interest in being This kind of negligence is not a source of obligation. (Art.
reimbursed for loss caused by reliance on the contract by 1157.) It merely makes the debtor liable for damages in
being put in as good a position as he would have been had view of his negligence in the fulfillment of a pre-existing
the contract not been made; or obligation resulting in its breach or non-fulfillment.
(c) Restitution interest, which is his interest in (Arts.1170-1174, 2201) It is a kind of civil negligence if it
having restored to him any benefit that he has conferred does not amount to a crime;
on the other party. (2) Civil negligence (culpa aquiliana) or negligence which
(3) Excuse from ensuing liability. by itself is the source of an obligation between the parties
(4) Duty of obligee to minimize his damages. not formally bound before by any pre-existing contract. It
Responsibility arising from fraud demandable is also called “tort” or “quasidelict.” (Art. 2176.10);
Article 1171 refers to incidental fraud which is employed (3) Criminal negligence (culpa criminal) or negligence
in the fulfillment of an obligation. (Art. 1170.) resulting in thecommission of a crime. (Arts. 3, 365,
Responsibility arising from fraud can be demanded with Revised Penal Code.) The same negligent act causing
respect damages may produce civil liability arising from a crime
to all kinds of obligation and unlike in the case of under Article 100 of the Revised Penal Code (supra.), or
responsibility arising from negligence (Art. 1172.), the create an action for quasi-delict under Article 2176, et
court is not given the power to mitigate or reduce the seq., of the Civil Code.
damages to be awarded. This is so because fraud is Meaning of fault or negligence
deemed serious and evil that its employment to avoid the (1) Fault or negligence is defined by the above provision.
fulfillment of one’s obligation should be discouraged. (par.1.)
Responsibility arising from negligence demandable (2) According to our Supreme Court, “negligence is
(1) In the performance of every kind of obligation, the conduct that creates undue risk or harm to another. It is
debtor is also liable for damages resulting from his the failure to observe for the protection of the interests of
negligence or culpa. The courts, however, are given wide another person, that degree of care, precaution and
discretion in fixing the measure of damages. The reason is vigilance which the circumstances justly demand,
because negligence is a question which must necessarily whereby such other person suffers injury.
depend upon the circumstances of each particular case. Factors to be considered
Moreover, negligence is not as serious as fraud because in (1) Nature of the obligation. — e.g., smoking while
the case of the former, there is no bad faith or deliberate carrying materials known to be inflammable constitutes
intention to cause injury or damages. The courts, negligence;
however, may increase the damages. (2) Circumstances of the person. — e.g., a guard, a man in
(2) When both parties to a transaction are mutually the prime of life, robust and healthy, sleeping while on
negligent in the performance of their obligations, the fault duty is guilty of negligence;
of one cancels the negligence of the other. Thus, their