[UENULEIUS libro quinto decimo stipulationum. ] §46.8.8.prProcurator ad exhibendum egit et aduersarius absolutus est, quia non possidebat: at cum possessionem eiusdem rei nanctus esset, agit cum eo dominus ad exhibendum.
[VENULEIUS, Askings, Book XV] A procurator brought an action for production, and the opponent was acquitted because he was not in possession; but when the opponent obtained possession of the same thing, the principal brought an action for production against him.
Sabinus ait fideiussores non teneri, quoniam haec alia res sit: nam et si dominus egisset, mox, absoluto aduersario quia non possideret, ex integro ageret, non obstaturam rei iudicatae exceptionem.
Sabinus says that the sureties are not liable, because this is a different matter; for even if the principal had sued, and then, after the opponent was acquitted because he was not in possession, he sued anew, the plea of res judicata would not stand in his way.
§46.8.8.1Si procurator a debitore pecuniam exegerit et satisdederit dominum ratam rem habere, mox dominus de eadem pecunia egit et litem amiserit, committi stipulationem: et, si procurator eandem pecuniam domino sine iudice soluerit, condicturum.
If a procurator has exacted money from a debtor and given security that the principal will ratify the transaction, and shortly afterwards the principal sues for the same money and loses the case, the stipulation is forfeited; and if the procurator has paid the same money to the principal without a judicial decision, he will bring an action for recovery.
sed cum debitor ex stipulatu agere coeperit, potest dici dominum, si defensionem procuratoris suscipiat, non inutiliter doli mali exceptione aduersus debitorem uti, quia naturale debitum manet.
But when the debtor begins to sue on the stipulation, it can be said that the principal, if he undertakes the defense of the procurator, may not uselessly employ the plea of fraud against the debtor, because a natural obligation remains.
§46.8.8.2Si quis a procuratore status controuersiam patiatur, satis accipere debet a procuratore, ne impune saepius pro suo statu conueniretur et, si dominus uenientesque ab eo personae ratum non habuerunt, quod procurator eum in seruitutem petierit uel aduersus procuratorem ex seruitute in libertatem petitus fuerit, quanti ea res est, ei praestetur, scilicet cum de libertate eius constiterit, id est quanti interfuerit eius de statu suo rursus non periclitari et propter impendia, quae in litem fecerit.
If anyone suffers a dispute concerning his status from a procurator, he ought to receive security from the procurator, so that he may not be repeatedly sued concerning his status with impunity, and that, if the principal and persons deriving their rights from him have not ratified the fact that the procurator claimed him as a slave or that he was claimed from slavery into freedom against the procurator, the value of the matter should be paid to him; that is to say, when his freedom is established, which is the amount of his interest in not running a risk concerning his status again, and on account of the expenses he incurred in the lawsuit.
sed Labeo certam summam comprehendendam existimabat, quia aestimatio libertatis ad infinitum extenderetur.
But Labeo thought that a specific sum ought to be included, because the valuation of freedom would extend to infinity.
ex quo autem dominus ratum non habuerit, committi uidetur stipulatio, sed non ante ex ea agi poterit, quam de libertate iudicatum fuerit, quia, si seruus sit iudicatus, inutilis fit stipulatio, cum et, si qua sit actio, eam domino adquisisse intellegitur.
From the moment, however, that the principal has not ratified, the stipulation seems to be forfeited, but an action cannot be brought on it before judgment has been given on the question of freedom, because, if he is judged to be a slave, the stipulation becomes useless, since, if there is any action, the principal is understood to have acquired it.