ILLUSTRATIVE CASE:

Liability of sheriff lawfully 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. (Navales vs. Rias,
8 Phil. 508 [1907].)

ART. 1158. Obligations derived from law are not presumed.

Only those expressly determined in this Code or in special laws
are demandable, and shall be regulated by the precepts of
the law which establishes them; and as to what has not been
fore- seen, by the provisions of this Book. (1090)

Legal obligations.
Article 1158 refers to legal obligations or obligations arising from
law. They are not presumed because they are considered a burden
upon the obligor. They are the exception, not the rule. To be
demandable, they must be clearly set forth in the law, i.e., the Civil
Code or special laws. Thus:
(1) An employer has no obligation to furnish free legal assistance
to his employees because no law requires this, and, therefore, an
em- ployee may not recover from his employer the amount he may
have paid a lawyer hired by him to recover damages caused to said
employ- ee by a stranger or strangers while in the performance of
his duties. (De la Cruz vs. Northern Theatrical Enterprises, 95 Phil.
739 [1954].)
 (2) A private school has no legal obligation to provide clothing allowance to its teachers
because there is no law which imposes this obligation upon schools. But a person who wins
money in gambling has the duty to return his winnings to the loser. This obligation is pro- vided by
law. (Art. 2014.)
Under Article 1158, special laws refer to all other laws not contained in the Civil Code.
ILLUSTRATIVE CASES:
1. Liability of husband for medical assistance rendered to his wife but contracted by his parents.
Facts: X, by virtue of having been sent for by B and C, attended as physician and rendered
professional services to a daughter-in-law of B and C during a difficult and laborious childbirth.
Issue: Who is bound to pay the bill: B and C, the parents-in-law of the patient, or the husband of the
latter?
Held: The rendering of medical assistance in case of illness is comprised among the mutual
obligations to which spouses are bound by way of mutual support.4 If spouses are mutually bound to
support each other, there can be no question that when either of them by reason of illness should be in
need of medical assistance, the other is to render the unavoidable obligation to furnish the services of a
physician and is liable for all expenses, including the fees for professional services.
This liability originates from the above-mentioned mutual obligation which the law has expressly
established between the married couple. B and C not having personally bound themselves to pay are
not liable. (Pelayo vs. Lauron, 12 Phil. 453 [1909].)
—-— —-— —-—
2. Title to property purchased by a person for his own benefit but paid by another.
Facts: X, of legal age, bought two vessels from B, the purchase price thereof being paid by C, X’s father.
Subsequently, differences arose between X and C. The latter brought action to recover the vessels, he
having paid the purchase price.
Issue: Is there any obligation on the part of X to transfer the ownership of the vessel to C?
Held: None. If any such obligation was ever created on the part of X, said obligation must arise from
law. But obligations derived from law

4
See Arts. 194, 195, Family Code.