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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §4.3.33.pr

Frivolous Suit Preventing a Sale and the Action on the Case

Passage 694 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

In a case where a lawsuit over ownership was brought against a thing intended for sale, ruining the opportunity to sell it before the lawsuit was withdrawn, it is held that the possessor has an action on the facts (actio in factum) to recover his losses.

[ULPIANUS libro quarto opinionum. ] §4.3.33.prRei, quam uenalem possessor habebat, litem proprietatis aduersarius mouere coepit et posteaquam oportunitatem emptoris, cui uenundari potuit, peremit, destitit: placuit possessori hoc nomine actionem in factum cum sua indemnitate competere.
[ULPIANUS libro quarto opinionum.] An adversary began to bring a lawsuit concerning the ownership of a thing which its possessor held for sale, and after he had ruined the opportunity of a buyer to whom it could have been sold, he desisted. It was held that an action on the facts (actio in factum) is available to the possessor on this ground, together with his own indemnification.

Notes

  1. §4.3.33.prRei — The genitive Rei at the beginning of the sentence is modified by the relative clause quam uenalem possessor habebat and hangs on the subsequent phrase litem proprietatis. Its placement at the very beginning is a hyperbaton for emphasis and to introduce the relative clause.
  2. §4.3.33.prcui uenundari potuit — The relative pronoun cui (dative) refers to the antecedent emptoris. The subject of the passive infinitive uenundari is the "thing held for sale" referred to by Rei in the main clause, which is omitted contextually.
  3. §4.3.33.prplacuit ... competere — The impersonal expression placuit governs the accusative with infinitive clause (actionem ... competere) to express a legal opinion or established rule ("it was held that..."). The dative possessori goes with competere (to be available to, belong to).

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §4.3.33.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:4.3.33.pr

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