OBLIGATIONS AND CONTRACTS

ILLUSTATIVE CASE: Liability of sheriff lawfully

CHAPTER 1 – GENERAL PROVISIONS
ARTICLE 1157
Obligations are from law, contracts,
quasi-contracts, acts or omissions punished
by law, and quasi-delicts.
SOURCES OF OBLIGATIONS
1. Law – imposed by the law. (to pay
taxes; support family)
2. Contracts – stipulation of the parties.
(repay loan by virtue of an
agreement)
3. Quasi-contracts – when they arise
from lawful, voluntary and unilateral
acts. (return the money paid by
mistake or which is not due)
4. Crimes or acts or omissions punished
by law – arise from civil liability,
consequence of a criminal offense.
(obligation of a thief to return the car
stolen by him)
5. Quasi-delicts or torts – arise from
damage caused to another through an
act no contractual relations exist
between the parties. (obligation of
the head of the family that lives in a
building to answer for the damages
caused by things thrown)
enforcing a judgment in an ejectment suit.
Facts: A judgment was rendered by a
justice of the peace court (now municipal
court) in favor of X who brought an ejectment
suit against Y, the owner of the house built on
the land of X. Z, the deputy sheriff who
executed the judgment, was obliged to
remove the house of Y from the land
according to the usual procedure in the action
for ejectment.
Issue: Is Y entitled to indemnity
arising from the destruction of his house?
Held: No proof has been submitted
that a contract had been entered into
between plaintiff (Y) and the defendants (X
and Z) or that the latter had committed illegal
acts or omissions or incurred in any kind of
fault or negligence, from any of which an
obligation might have arisen on the part of X
and Z to indemnify Y. For this reason, the
claim for indemnity, on account of acts
performed by the sheriff, while enforcing a
judgment, cannot under any consideration be
sustained.

SOURCES CLASSIFIED
1. Emanating from law
2. Emanating from private acts
 Licit acts (contracts and quasi-
contracts)
 Illicit acts (punishable by law in
the case of delicts or not
punishable in the case of quasi-
delicts)
** ACTUALLY: there are only 2 sources (laws
& contracts) because obligations from quasi-
contracts, crimes, and quasi-delicts are
imposed by law.
** Source of obligation is a private act, law
merely recognizes the existence of the
obligation.