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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §18.4.20.pr-18.4.20.1

Seller's Liability when Inheriting from a Debtor

Passage 2718 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

This text discusses the applicability of the action on purchase (actio ex empto) when the seller of an inheritance becomes the heir to a debtor of the deceased, or when a debtor becomes the heir to their own creditor and sells the inheritance.

[AFRICANUS libro septimo quaestionum. ] §18.4.20.prSi hereditatem mihi Lucii Titii uendideris ac post debitori eiusdem heres existas, actione ex empto teneberis.
[AFRICANUS, Questions, book 7.] If you sell to me the inheritance of Lucius Titius, and afterwards you become the heir to a debtor of the same, you will be liable under the action on purchase.
§18.4.20.1Quod simplicius etiam in illa propositione procedit, cum quis ipse creditori suo heres exstitit et hereditatem uendidit.
This proceeds even more clearly in that case where someone has himself become the heir to his own creditor and has sold the inheritance.

Notes

  1. §18.4.20.prdebitori eiusdem — The pronoun eiusdem refers back to Lucius Titius (the deceased). When the seller of the inheritance subsequently becomes the heir to a debtor of that inheritance, they assume the liability of that debtor, meaning the buyer can bring the action on purchase against them to claim what was due to the inheritance.
  2. §18.4.20.1Quod simplicius — Quod is a relative connection referring to the principle established in the previous section (the liability under the action on purchase). The comparative adverb simplicius (more simply, more clearly) indicates that in the case where the debtor himself becomes the heir to his creditor and then sells the inheritance, the application of this liability is even more direct and obvious than in the case in pr.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §18.4.20.pr-18.4.20.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:18.4.20.pr-18.4.20.1

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