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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §4.3.23.pr

Action for Fraud in Legacy Exceeding the Falcidian Law

Passage 684 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Gaius explains that an action for fraud (actio de dolo) is granted if a legatee deceives an heir who is ignorant of the estate's value into paying the legacy in full, exceeding the limit of the Lex Falcidia.

[GAIUS libro quarto ad edictum prouinciale. ] §4.3.23.prSi legatarius, cui supra modum legis Falcidiae legatum est, heredi adhuc ignoranti substantiam hereditatis ultro iurando uel quadam alia fallacia persuaserit, tamquam satis abundeque ad solida legata soluenda sufficiat hereditas, atque eo modo solida legata fuerit consecutus: datur de dolo actio.
[GAIUS libro quarto ad edictum prouinciale.] If a legatee, to whom a legacy exceeding the limit of the Lex Falcidia has been left, persuades an heir who is still ignorant of the actual value of the inheritance, either by taking an oath on his own initiative or by some other deception, that the inheritance is fully and more than sufficient for the payment of the legacies in full, and in this manner obtains the legacies in full: an action for fraud is granted.

Notes

  1. §4.3.23.prtamquam ... sufficiat — The conjunction tamquam followed by the present subjunctive sufficiat introduces the subjective belief or pretext with which the legatee persuaded the heir ("as if ... were sufficient").
  2. §4.3.23.prsolida legata — This refers to "undiminished legacies" or "legacies paid in full". Under the Lex Falcidia, the heir was entitled to retain at least one-fourth of the estate, requiring a proportional reduction of legacies if this quota was threatened; here it refers to obtaining the full amount without such reduction.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §4.3.23.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:4.3.23.pr

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