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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §44.4.5.pr-44.4.5.6

Defense of Fraud in Conditional Legacies and Its Perpetuity

Passage 7268 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Paulus examines the application of the exception of dolus in various scenarios including conditional legacies, the Lex Falcidia, unauthorized building on donated land, and transactions by agents or husbands, and explains why the exception of dolus remains perpetually available unlike the corresponding action.

[PAULUS libro septuagensimo primo ad edictum. ] §44.4.5.prPure mihi debes decem: ea tibi sub condicione legaui.
You owe me ten unconditionally; I have bequeathed these to you under a condition.
interim heres si petat, doli exceptione non est summouendus, cum possit etiam deficere condicio: itaque legatorum stipulationem interponere debebit.
In the meantime, if the heir should sue, he is not to be barred by the exception of dolus, since the condition might also fail; therefore, he will have to interpose a stipulation of legacies.
sed si non caueat heres, doli exceptione summouebitur: expedit enim legatario retinere summam, quam mitti in possessionem rerum hereditariarum.
But if the heir does not provide a guarantee, he will be barred by the exception of dolus; for it is more advantageous for the legatee to retain the sum than to be put into possession of the hereditary property.
§44.4.5.1Si cui legata sit uia et is lege Falcidia locum habente totam eam uindicet non oblata aestimatione quartae partis, summoueri eum doli exceptione Marcellus ait, quoniam suo commodo heres consulit.
If a right of way is bequeathed to someone, and he, under circumstances where the Lex Falcidia applies, claims the whole of it without offering the valuation of the fourth part, Marcellus says that he is barred by the exception of dolus, since the heir looks to his own advantage.
§44.4.5.2Si donaui alicui rem nec tradidero, et ille cui donaui non tradita possessione in eo loco aedificauerit me sciente, et cum aedificauerit, nanctus sim ego possessionem, et petat a me rem donatam, et ego excipiam, quod supra legitimum modum facta est: an de dolo replicandum est? dolo enim feci, qui passus sum eum aedificare et non reddo impensas.
If I donated a thing to someone and have not delivered it, and he to whom I donated it, without possession having been delivered, built on that site with my knowledge, and after he built, I obtained possession, and he claims the donated thing from me, and I plead the exception that the donation was made above the legal limit: should there be a replication concerning dolus? For I acted with dolus, since I allowed him to build and do not return the expenses.
§44.4.5.3Actoris, qui exigendis pecuniis praepositus est, etiam posterior dolus domino nocet.
The subsequent dolus of an agent who was appointed for demanding money also harms the principal.
§44.4.5.4Si seruus ueniit ab eo, cui hoc dominus permisit, et redhibitus sit domino: agenti uenditori de pretio exceptio opponitur redhibitionis, licet iam is qui uendidit domino pretium soluerit (etiam mercis non traditae exceptione summouetur et qui pecuniam domino iam soluit) et ideo is qui uendidit agit adversus dominum.
If a slave is sold by one to whom the owner permitted this, and is returned to the owner: against the seller suing for the price, the exception of return is opposed, even if he who sold has already paid the price to the owner (he who has already paid the money to the owner is also barred by the exception of the non-delivered merchandise); and therefore he who sold sues against the owner.
eandem causam esse Pedius ait eius, qui negotium nostrum gerens uendidit.
Pedius says that the case of him who sold while managing our business is the same.
§44.4.5.5Si eum, qui uolebat mihi donare supra legitimum modum, delegauero creditori meo, non poterit adversus petentem uti exceptione, quoniam creditor suum petit.
If I delegate him, who wished to make a donation to me above the legal limit, to my creditor, he cannot use the exception against the claimant, because the creditor claims what is his own.
in eadem causa est maritus: nec hic enim debet exceptione summoueri, qui suo nomine agit.
A husband is in the same case; for he who sues in his own name ought not to be barred by the exception.
numquid ergo nec de dolo mulieris excipiendum sit adversus maritum, qui dotem petit, non ducturus uxorem, nisi dotem accepisset? nisi iam diuertit.
Is it then the case that against a husband claiming a dowry, who would not have married the wife unless he had received the dowry, the exception concerning the dolus of the woman should not be pleaded? Unless he has already divorced.
itaque condictione tenetur debitor qui delegauit uel mulier, ut uel liberet debitorem uel, si soluit, ut pecunia ei reddatur.
Therefore, the debtor who delegated, or the woman, is bound by a condictio either to release the debtor or, if he has paid, so that the money is returned to him.
§44.4.5.6Non sicut de dolo actio certo tempore finitur, ita etiam exceptio eodem tempore danda est: nam haec perpetuo competit, cum actor quidem in sua potestate habeat, quando utatur suo iure, is autem cum quo agitur non habeat potestatem, quando conueniatur.
It is not the case that, just as an action concerning dolus is limited to a certain time, so also the exception must be granted within the same time; for this is available perpetually, since the plaintiff indeed has in his own power when he may use his right, whereas the person against whom the action is brought does not have power when he may be summoned.

Notes

  1. 44.4.5.printerim heres si petat — The adverb 'interim' refers to the period during which the condition of the conditional legacy remains pending. During this time, the heir may sue for the debt, but to ensure that the legatee receives security (stipulatio legatorum) in case the condition is later fulfilled, the heir's claim will be barred by the exception of dolus if he fails to provide such security.
  2. 44.4.5.2an de dolo replicandum est? — This passage questions whether, when the donor recovers possession and faces a claim for the property after the donee built on the land before delivery, the donee can counter the donor's exception of exceeding the legal limit (under the Lex Cincia) with a replication of dolus (replicatio doli), based on the donor's bad faith in allowing the building to be built while refusing to reimburse the expenses.
  3. 44.4.5.4agenti uenditori de pretio exceptio opponitur redhibitionis — When an agent authorized by the owner sells a slave who is subsequently returned (redhibitus) to the owner due to a defect, the buyer can oppose the exception of return (exceptio redhibitionis) against the seller's claim for the price. Even if the seller has already paid the price over to the owner, the buyer remains protected, and the seller must seek recourse against the owner through their internal relationship.
  4. 44.4.5.6nam haec perpetuo competit — This states the equitable principle that while the action of dolus (actio de dolo) is subject to a strict time limit (usually one year, later four years), the exception of dolus (exceptio doli) is available perpetually (perpetuo competit). The plaintiff has the power to choose when to bring the suit, whereas the defendant has no control over when he is summoned, so the defense should not be time-barred.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §44.4.5.pr-44.4.5.6. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:44.4.5.pr-44.4.5.6

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