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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §20.4.13.pr

Allocation and Priority of Tenant Pledges upon Building Sale

Passage 2976 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

In connection with the sale of an apartment building, the allocation of rent claims and the tenant's pledges between the seller and the buyer is discussed, contrasting Nerva and Proculus's opinion favoring the seller's priority with Paulus's view that the pledge's security should follow each rent payment in chronological order.

[PAULUS libro quinto ad Plautium. ] §20.4.13.prInsulam tibi uendidi et dixi prioris anni pensionem mihi, sequentium tibi accessuram pignorumque ab inquilino datorum ius utrumque secuturum.
[PAULUS in his fifth book on Plautius.] I sold you an apartment building and declared that the rent of the previous year should belong to me, and that of the subsequent years to you, and that the right to the pledges given by the tenant should follow both.
Nerua Proculus, nisi ad utramque pensionem pignora sufficerent, ius omnium pignorum primum ad me pertinere, quia nihil aperte dictum esset, an communiter ex omnibus pignoribus summa pro rata seruetur: si quid superesset, ad te.
Nerva and Proculus held that, unless the pledges were sufficient for both rents, the right to all the pledges belonged first to me, because nothing had been explicitly stated as to whether the sum should be preserved proportionally in common from all the pledges; and if any surplus remained, it should go to you.
PAULUS: facti quaestio est, sed uerisimile est id actum, ut primam quamque pensionem pignorum causa sequatur.
PAULUS: This is a question of fact, but it is probable that it was agreed that the security of the pledges should follow each of the rents in order of priority.

Notes

  1. §20.4.13.prius utrumque secuturum — An accusative with infinitive clause where 'ius' (neuter singular accusative) is the subject. 'Utrumque' is the neuter singular accusative pointing to both preceding rent claims (prioris anni pensionem and sequentium pensionem), serving as the object of the transitive future participle 'secuturum'. It translates to 'the right to follow both'.
  2. §20.4.13.prNerua Proculus — The main governing verb (such as 'responderunt' or 'putant') is omitted in the context, introducing the subsequent accusative with infinitive clause ('ius ... pertinere'). It indicates the opinion of the jurists Nerva and Proculus.
  3. §20.4.13.pran communiter ex omnibus pignoribus summa pro rata seruetur — An indirect question clause introduced by 'an', depending on the preceding 'dictum esset', explaining the subject of what had not been explicitly agreed upon.
  4. §20.4.13.prprimam quamque pensionem pignorum causa sequatur — The phrase 'primam quamque' uses the construction of 'quisque' with an ordinal, meaning 'each rent in chronological order of priority'. 'Pignorum causa' means 'the status/benefit of the pledges' (or security interest), serving as the subject of the active subjunctive verb 'sequatur', which governs each rent as its object.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §20.4.13.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:20.4.13.pr

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