Professional Documents
Culture Documents
2020-2021
LAW ON SALES STUDY GUIDE
(Articles 1458-1488)
Sale is a contract where one party (seller or vendor) obligates himself to transfer the
ownership of and to deliver a determinate thing, while the other party (buyer or vendee)
obligates himself to pay for said thing a price certain in money or its equivalent (NCC, Art.
1458).
The primary consideration in determining the true nature of a contract is the intention of
the parties. If the words of a contract appear to contravene the evident intention of the parties,
the latter shall prevail. Such intention is determined not only from the express terms of the
agreement, but also from the contemporaneous and subsequent acts of the parties (Heirs of
Dela Rosa v. Tongbacal, et. al., G.R. No. 179205, July 30, 2014).
But before we go any deeper into the technicalities of the law on sales, let us first
discuss and learn the nature and form of the contract of sales in this Module.
Learning Outcomes
1. Know what is the contract of sale, its characteristics and essential requisites.
2. Distinguish sale from other contracts.
3. Ascertain the rules governing auction sales.
CHAPTER 1
Nature and Form of the Contract
Article 1459. The thing must be licit and the vendor must have a right to
transfer the ownership thereof at the time it is delivered. (n)
2. Natural elements – those which are inherent in the contract, and which in
the absence of any contrary provision, are deemed to exist in the contract.
Examples:
Examples:
a. Conditions;
b. Interest;
c. Time & Place of payment; and
d. Penalty.
2. Perfection or birth – takes place when the parties agree upon the essential
elements of the contract; and
3. Consummation – occurs when the parties fulfill or perform the terms agreed
upon in the contract culminating in the extinguishment thereof (Swedish Match
vs. CA, G.R. No. 128120, October 20, 2004).
NOTE: Delivery of the thing bought or payment of the price is not necessary for
the protection of the contract; and failure of the vendee to pay the price after
the execution of the contract does not make the sale null and void for lack of
consideration but results at most in default on the part of the vendee, for which
the vendor may exercise his legal remedies.
2. Bilateral – The seller will deliver and transfer a determinate thing to the
buyer and the latter will pay an ascertained price (or its equivalent).
3. GR: Commutative – The thing sold is considered the equivalent of the price
paid and the price paid is the equivalent of the thing sold.
4. Principal – Its existence does not depend upon the existence and validity of
another contract.
XPNs:
a) If the law requires a document or other special form, the contracting parties
may compel each other to observe that form.
c) Sale of large cattle which requires that the same be recorded with the city/
municipal treasurer and that a certificate of transfer be issued. Otherwise, the
sale is not valid (NCC, Art. 1581).
Under Art. 1357 of the NCC, its enforceability is recognized as each contracting
party is granted the right to compel the other to execute the proper public
instrument so that the valid contract of sale of registered land can be truly
registered and can bind third persons.
2. When there has been partial performance/execution (seller delivers with the
intent to transfer title/receives price);
As to:
1. Nature of the subject matter:
a. Sale of real property; and
b. Sale of personal property.
7. Wholesale or retail:
a. Wholesale; or b. Retail.
Article 1461. Things having a potential existence may be the object of the
contract of sale.
Example:
Here, the obligation of S to sell will arise, if the “expected thing”, the land,
will come into existence, i.e., if he wins the case.
Article 1462. The goods which form the subject of a contract of sale may
be either existing goods, owned or possessed by the seller, or goods to be
manufactured, raised, or acquired by the seller after the perfection of the
contract of sale, in this Title called "future goods."
A sale of future goods even though the contract is in the form of a present sale, is
valid only as an executory contract to be fulfilled by the acquisition and delivery
of the goods specified.
In other words, "Property or goods which, at the time of the sale, are not owned
by the seller, but which are thereafter to be acquired by him, cannot be the
subject of an executed sale, but may be the subject of a contract for the future
sale and delivery thereof, and it has been held that even though the contract is in
the form of a present sale it will not pass the title, after the goods have been
acquired, until the seller has done some act appropriating them to the contract.
Such a contract for the future sale and delivery of goods, which the seller has not
in possession but which he intends to acquire by producing, manufacturing, or
purchasing before the day of delivery, is valid as an executory contract to be
fulfilled by acquiring and delivering the goods specified in the contract, even
though the acquisition of the goods by the seller depends upon a contingency
which may or may not happen.”
Article 1463. The sole owner of a thing may sell an undivided interest
therein. (n)
Fungible goods - goods of which unit is, from its nature or by mercantile
usage, treated as the equivalent of any other unit. (i.e. grain, oil, wine,
gasoline, etc.)
Example:
Article 1469. In order that the price may be considered certain, it shall be
sufficient that it be so with reference to another thing certain, or that the
determination thereof be left to the judgment of a special person or
persons.
Should such person or persons be unable or unwilling to fix it, the contract
shall be inefficacious, unless the parties subsequently agree upon the
price.
If the third person or persons acted in bad faith or by mistake, the courts
may fix the price.
Where such third person or persons are prevented from fixing the price or
terms by fault of the seller or the buyer, the party not in fault may have such
remedies against the party in fault as are allowed the seller or the buyer, as
the case may be. (1447a)
Article 1470. Gross inadequacy of price does not affect a contract of sale,
except as it may indicate a defect in the consent, or that the parties really
intended a donation or some other act or contract. (n)
Article 1471. If the price is simulated, the sale is void, but the act may be
shown to have been in reality a donation, or some other act or contract. (n)
Article 1473. The fixing of the price can never be left to the discretion of
one of the contracting parties. However, if the price fixed by one of the
parties is accepted by the other, the sale is perfected. (1449a)
Article 1474. Where the price cannot be determined in accordance with the
preceding articles, or in any other manner, the contract is inefficacious.
However, if the thing or any part thereof has been delivered to and
appropriated by the buyer he must pay a reasonable price therefor. What is
a reasonable price is a question of fact dependent on the circumstances of
each particular case. (n)
(4) Where notice has not been given that a sale by auction is subject to a
right to bid on behalf of the seller, it shall not be lawful for the seller to bid
himself or to employ or induce any person to bid at such sale on his behalf
or for the auctioneer, to employ or induce any person to bid at such sale on
behalf of the seller or knowingly to take any bid from the seller or any
person employed by him. Any sale contravening this rule may be treated as
fraudulent by the buyer. (n)
Article 1477. The ownership of the thing sold shall be transferred to the
vendee upon the actual or constructive delivery thereof. (n)
Article 1478. The parties may stipulate that ownership in the thing shall not
pass to the purchaser until he has fully paid the price. (n)
Article 1479. A promise to buy and sell a determinate thing for a price
certain is reciprocally demandable.
Option – a contractual privilege existing in one person for w/c he has paid a
consideration w/c gives him the right to buy/sell from/to another person, if he
chooses, at any time w/in the agreed period at a fixed price, or under, or in
compliance w/ certain terms & conditions.
1.) If the thing is lost before perfection, the seller bears the loss. (ˆRes perit
domino”)
2.) If the thing is lost at the time of perfection, the contract is void or inexistent.
The legal effect is the same as when the object is lost before the perfection of the
contract of sale.
3.) If the thing is lost after the perfection but before its delivery, that is, even
before the ownership is transferred to the buyer, the risk of loss is shifted to the
buyer as an exception to the rule of res perit domino.
4.) If the thing is lost after delivery, the buyer bears the risk of loss following the
principle of res perit domino.
The buyer shall have a reasonable opportunity of comparing the bulk with
the description or the sample. (n)
Sale by sample – to constitute a sale by sample, it must appear that the parties
contracted solely w/ reference to the sample, w/ the understanding that the bulk
was like it. ‘Bulk of goods’ in this art = goods to be actually sold
Earnest money forms part of the consideration ONLY IF the sale is PERFECTED
& the sale is CONSUMMATED upon full payment of the purchase price. Earnest
money constitutes an advance or down payment & must therefore be deducted
from the total price.
NOTE: Option money may become earnest money if the parties so agree. Or it
may actually be in the nature of earnest money when considered w/ the rest of
the contract.
Article 1483. Subject to the provisions of the Statute of Frauds and of any
other applicable statute, a contract of sale may be made in writing, or by
word of mouth, or partly in writing and partly by word of mouth, or may be
inferred from the conduct of the parties. (n)
Exception: when the law requires a certain form for its validity or enforceability
such as those falling under the Statute of Frauds. (Read 1356-58 & 1403) In
case the contract of sale is covered by the SoF, it should be in writing otherwise
they shall be unenforceable. (Remember, unenforceable ≠ void)
(1) Exact fulfillment of the obligation, should the vendee fail to pay;
(2) Cancel the sale, should the vendee's failure to pay cover two or more
installments;
(3) Foreclose the chattel mortgage on the thing sold, if one has been
constituted, should the vendee's failure to pay cover two or more
installments. In this case, he shall have no further action against the
purchaser to recover any unpaid balance of the price. Any agreement to the
contrary shall be void. (1454-A-a)
If seller chooses option 2, the buyer may demand the return of the
installments unless there is a stipulation effecting forfeiture (read 1486).
Where the buyer has paid at least 2 years of installments, the buyer is
entitled to the ff rights in case he defaults in the payment of succeeding
installments:
Grace Period – to pay, w/o additional interest, the unpaid installments due
w/in the total grace period earned by him w/c is hereby fixed at the rate of
one month grace period for every year of installment payments made;
Provided, that this right shall be exercised by the buyer only once in every
5 years of the life of the contract & its extensions, if any;
Article 1487. The expenses for the execution and registration of the sale
shall be borne by the vendor, unless there is a stipulation to the contrary.
(1455a)
Absolute Sale
A contract of sale is absolute when the title to the property passes to the
vendee upon delivery of the thing sold (Rabuya, 2017).
Conditional Sale
De leon, et. al (2013) Law on Obligations and Contracts, Quezon City, PH: Rex Printing
Company, Inc.
E. Paras (2013) Civil Code Volume V (Special Contracts), Quezon City, PH: Rex Printing
Company, Inc.