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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §9.2.28.pr-9.2.28.1

Liability under Lex Aquilia for Pits Dug to Trap Game

Passage 1545 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Regarding damage caused by pitfall traps for catching bears and deer, liability under the Lex Aquilia arises if they are dug on pathways, though individual circumstances such as warnings and the victim's ability to foresee the danger are considered.

[PAULUS libro decimo ad Sabinum. ] §9.2.28.prQui foueas ursorum ceruorumque capiendorum causa faciunt, si in itineribus fecerunt eoque aliquid decidit factumque deterius est, lege Aquilia obligati sunt: at si in aliis locis, ubi fieri solent, fecerunt, nihil tenentur.
[PAULUS in the tenth book on Sabinus.] Those who dig pitfall traps for the purpose of catching bears and deer are liable under the Lex Aquilia if they did so on pathways and something fell into them and was damaged; but if they did so in other places where they are usually made, they are not held liable at all.
§9.2.28.1Haec tamen actio ex causa danda est, id est si neque denuntiatum est neque scierit aut prouidere potuerit: et multa huiusmodi deprehenduntur, quibus summouetur petitor, si euitare periculum poterit.
However, this action is to be granted depending on the circumstances, that is, if no warning was given and the victim did not know or could not have foreseen it; and many cases of this kind are found, by which the plaintiff is barred if he could have avoided the danger.

Notes

  1. §9.2.28.prursorum ceruorumque capiendorum causa — A gerundive construction in the genitive. The gerundive capiendorum agrees in gender, number, and case with ursorum ceruorumque, and together with the postpositional causa, expresses purpose.
  2. §9.2.28.1neque scierit aut prouidere potuerit — The subject of the verbs scierit and potuerit is omitted, but contextually refers to the victim (the later petitor) who fell into the pitfall trap.
  3. §9.2.28.1quibus summouetur petitor — The relative pronoun in the ablative quibus refers back to the preceding neuter plural phrase multa huiusmodi, expressing means or cause. summouetur is a legal term meaning 'is barred' or 'is rejected' in court.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §9.2.28.pr-9.2.28.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:9.2.28.pr-9.2.28.1

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