New Civil Code of the Philippines
Title VI Sales
Chapter 4 Obligations of the Vendor
Section 3 Conditions and Warranties
SECTION 3
CONDITIONS AND WARRANTIES
Article 1545
Where the obligation of either party to a contract of sale is subject to any condition which is not performed, such party may refuse to proceed with the contract or he may waive performance of the condition.
If the other party has promised that the condition should happen or be performed, such first mentioned party may also treat the nonperformance of the condition as a breach of warranty.
Where the ownership in the thing has not passed, the buyer may treat the fulfillment by the seller of his obligation to deliver the same as described and as warranted expressly or by implication in the contract of sale as a condition of the obligation of the buyer to perform his promise to accept and pay for the thing.
Article 1546
Any affirmation of fact or any promise by the seller relating to the thing is an express warranty if the natural tendency of such affirmation or promise is to induce the buyer to purchase the same, and if the buyer purchases the thing relying thereon.
No affirmation of the value of the thing, nor any statement purporting to be a statement of the seller’s opinion only, shall be construed as a warranty, unless the seller made such affirmation or statement as an expert and it was relied upon by the buyer.
Article 1547
In a contract of sale, unless a contrary intention appears, there is:
(1) An implied warranty on the part of the seller that he has a right to sell the thing at the time when the ownership is to pass, and that the buyer shall from that time have and enjoy the legal and peaceful possession of the thing;
(2) An implied warranty that the thing shall be free from any hidden faults or defects, or any charge or encumbrance not declared or known to the buyer.
This article shall not, however, be held to render liable a sheriff, auctioneer, mortgagee, pledgee, or other person professing to sell by virtue of authority in fact or law, for the sale of a thing in which a third person has a legal or equitable interest.
SUBSECTION 1
WARRANTY IN CASE OF EVICTION
Article 1548
Eviction shall take place whenever by a final judgment based on a right prior to the sale or an act imputable to the vendor, the vendee is deprived of the whole or of a part of the thing purchased.
The vendor shall answer for the eviction even though nothing has been said in the contract on the subject.
The contracting parties, however, may increase, diminish, or suppress this legal obligation of the vendor.
Article 1549
The vendee need not appeal from the decision in order that the vendor may become liable for eviction.
Article 1550
When adverse possession had been commenced before the sale but the prescriptive period is completed after the transfer, the vendor shall not be liable for eviction.
Article 1551
If the property is sold for nonpayment of taxes due and not made known to the vendee before the sale, the vendor is liable for eviction.
Article 1552
The judgment debtor is also responsible for eviction in judicial sales, unless it is otherwise decreed in the judgment.
Article 1553
Any stipulation exempting the vendor from the obligation to answer for eviction shall be void, if he acted in bad faith.
Article 1554
If the vendee has renounced the right to warranty in case of eviction, and eviction should take place, the vendor shall only pay the value which the thing sold had at the time of the eviction.
Should the vendee have made the waiver with knowledge of the risks of eviction and assumed its consequences, the vendor shall not be liable.
Article 1555
When the warranty has been agreed upon or nothing has been stipulated on this point, in case eviction occurs, the vendee shall have the right to demand of the vendor:
(1) The return of the value which the thing sold had at the time of the eviction, be it greater or less than the price of the sale;
(2) The income or fruits, if he has been ordered to deliver them to the party who won the suit against him;
(3) The costs of the suit which caused the eviction, and, in a proper case, those of the suit brought against the vendor for the warranty;
(4) The expenses of the contract, if the vendee has paid them;
(5) The damages and interests, and ornamental expenses, if the sale was made in bad faith.
Article 1556
Should the vendee lose, by reason of the eviction, a part of the thing sold of such importance, in relation to the whole, that he would not have bought it without said part, he may demand the rescission of the contract; but with the obligation to return the thing without other encumbrances that those which it had when he acquired it.
He may exercise this right of action, instead of enforcing the vendor’s liability for eviction.
The same rule shall be observed when two or more things have been jointly sold for a lump sum, or for a separate price for each of them, if it should clearly appear that the vendee would not have purchased one without the other.
Article 1557
The warranty cannot be enforced until a final judgment has been rendered, whereby the vendee loses the thing acquired or a part thereof.
Article 1558
The vendor shall not be obliged to make good the proper warranty, unless he is summoned in the suit for eviction at the instance of the vendee.
Article 1559
The defendant vendee shall ask, within the time fixed in the Rules of Court for answering the complaint, that the vendor be made a co-defendant.
Article 1560
If the immovable sold should be encumbered with any non-apparent burden or servitude, not mentioned in the agreement, of such a nature that it must be presumed that the vendee would not have acquired it had he been aware thereof, he may ask for the rescission of the contract, unless he should prefer the appropriate indemnity.
Neither right can be exercised if the non-apparent burden or servitude is recorded in the Registry of Property, unless there is an express warranty that the thing is free from all burdens and encumbrances.
Within one year, to be computed from the execution of the deed, the vendee may bring the action for rescission, or sue for damages.
One year having elapsed, he may only bring an action for damages within an equal period, to be counted from the date on which he discovered the burden or servitude.
SUBSECTION 2
WARRANTY AGAINST HIDDEN DEFECTS OF OR ENCUMBRANCES UPON THE THING SOLD
Article 1561
The vendor shall be responsible for warranty against the hidden defects which the thing sold may have, should they render it unfit for the use for which it is intended, or should they diminish its fitness for such use to such an extent that, had the vendee been aware thereof, he would not have acquired it or would have given a lower price for it;
…but said vendor shall not be answerable for patent defects or those which may be visible, or for those which are not visible if the vendee is an expert who, by reason of his trade or profession, should have known them.
Article 1562
In a sale of goods, there is an implied warranty or condition as to the quality or fitness of the goods, as follows:
(1) Where the buyer, expressly or by implication, makes known to the seller the particular purpose for which the goods are acquired, and it appears that the buyer relies on the seller’s skill or judgment (whether he be the grower or manufacturer or not), there is an implied warranty that the goods shall be reasonably fit for such purpose;
(2) Where the goods are brought by description from a seller who deals in goods of that description (whether he be the grower or manufacturer or not), there is an implied warranty that the goods shall be of merchantable quality.
Article 1563
In the case of contract of sale of a specified article under its patent or other trade name, there is no warranty as to its fitness for any particular purpose, unless there is a stipulation to the contrary.
Article 1564
An implied warranty or condition as to the quality or fitness for a particular purpose may be annexed by the usage of trade.
Article 1565
In the case of a contract of sale by sample, if the seller is a dealer in goods of that kind, there is an implied warranty that the goods shall be free from any defect rendering them unmerchantable which would not be apparent on reasonable examination of the sample.
Article 1566
The vendor is responsible to the vendee for any hidden faults or defects in the thing sold, even though he was not aware thereof.
This provision shall not apply if the contrary has been stipulated, and the vendor was not aware of the hidden faults or defects in the thing sold.
Article 1567
In the cases of articles 1561, 1562, 1564, 1565 and 1566, the vendee may elect between withdrawing from the contract and demanding a proportionate reduction of the price, with damages in either case.
Article 1568
If the thing sold should be lost in consequence of the hidden faults, and the vendor was aware of them, he shall bear the loss, and shall be obliged to return the price and refund the expenses of the contract, with damages.
If he was not aware of them, he shall only return the price and interest thereon, and reimburse the expenses of the contract which the vendee might have paid.
Article 1569
If the thing sold had any hidden fault at the time of the sale, and should thereafter be lost by a fortuitous event or through the fault of the vendee, the latter may demand of the vendor the price which he paid, less the value which the thing had when it was lost.
If the vendor acted in bad faith, he shall pay damages to the vendee.
Article 1570
The preceding articles of this Subsection shall be applicable to judicial sales, except that the judgment debtor shall not be liable for damages.
Article 1571
Actions arising from the provisions of the preceding ten articles shall be barred after six months, from the delivery of the thing sold.
Article 1572
If two or more animals are sold together, whether for a lump sum or for a separate price for each of them, the redhibitory defect of one shall only give rise to its redhibition, and not that of the others; unless it should appear that the vendee would not have purchased the sound animal or animals without the defective one.
The latter case shall be presumed when a team, yoke, pair, or set is bought, even if a separate price has been fixed for each one of the animals composing the same.
Article 1573
The provisions of the preceding article with respect to the sale of animals shall in like manner be applicable to the sale of other things.
Article 1574
There is no warranty against hidden defects of animals sold at fairs or at public auctions, or of live stock sold as condemned.
Article 1575
The sale of animals suffering from contagious diseases shall be void. A contract of sale of animals shall also be void if the use or service for which they are acquired has been stated in the contract, and they are found to be unfit therefor.
Article 1576
If the hidden defect of animals, even in case a professional inspection has been made, should be of such a nature that expert knowledge is not sufficient to discover it, the defect shall be considered as redhibitory.
But if the veterinarian, through ignorance or bad faith should fail to discover or disclose it, he shall be liable for damages.
Article 1577
The redhibitory action, based on the faults or defects of animals, must be brought within forty days from the date of their delivery to the vendee.
This action can only be exercised with respect to faults and defects which are determined by law or by local customs.
Article 1578
If the animal should die within three days after its purchase, the vendor shall be liable if the disease which cause the death existed at the time of the contract.
Article 1579
If the sale be rescinded, the animal shall be returned in the condition in which it was sold and delivered, the vendee being answerable for any injury due to his negligence, and not arising from the redhibitory fault or defect.
Article 1580
In the sale of animals with redhibitory defects, the vendee shall also enjoy the right mentioned in article 1567; but he must make use thereof within the same period which has been fixed for the exercise of the redhibitory action.
Article 1581
The form of sale of large cattle shall be governed by special laws.