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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §19.2.59.pr

Risk of Earthquake Damage During Building Construction

Passage 2880 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

In a case where a building under construction was damaged by an earthquake, Sabinus rules that the risk of natural force falls on the employer.

[IAUOLENUS libro quinto Labeonis posteriorum. ] §19.2.59.prMarcius domum faciendam a Flacco conduxerat: deinde operis parte effecta terrae motu concussum erat aedificium.
[JAVOLENUS, in the fifth book of Labeo's Posthumous Works.]\n\nMarcius had contracted with Flaccus to build a house; then, when a part of the work had been completed, the building was damaged by an earthquake.
Massurius Sabinus, si ui naturali, ueluti terrae motu hoc acciderit, Flacci esse periculum.
Massurius Sabinus says that if this happened through natural force, such as an earthquake, the risk is Flaccus's.

Notes

  1. §19.2.59.prMassurius Sabinus, si ui naturali, ueluti terrae motu hoc acciderit, Flacci esse periculum — A verb of saying or responding (such as ait or respondet) is omitted after the main subject Massurius Sabinus, making Flacci esse periculum an accusative with infinitive (AcI) construction dependent on the omitted verb. Flacci is a possessive genitive indicating attribution ('belongs to Flaccus' or 'falls upon Flaccus'), meaning that the risk (periculum) is borne by the employer Flaccus.
  2. §19.2.59.properis parte effecta — An ablative absolute construction consisting of the ablative noun parte and the perfect participle effecta, expressing time or circumstance ('after a part of the work had been completed'). It describes the temporal background of the accident occurring after partial performance of the contract.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §19.2.59.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:19.2.59.pr

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