Page 132 - Latent Defect or Excessive Price?Exploring Early Modern Legal Approach to Remedying Defects in Goods Exchanged for Money - Bruijn
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CHAPTER THREE
Mercado junior appealed to the Royal Chancery to have it revoke this sentence pronounced by the corregidor234 of Medina del Campo, a town situated in Castilla y León. The corregidor had taken a decision in conformity with what he was asked to do by Dio Alvarro, viz. grant a compensation for all losses Dio Alvarro had suffered as a result of the land being encumbered with taxes and a pledge. The scribe put it in this way:
'he had condemned the other party | to take back within six days | and to release the census of 20 000 maravedís | \[etc.\] | and to pay on his account the damages and in- | terests which he \[i.e. Dio Alvarro\] incurred and would have incurred because of the imposed said census | on the hereditary goods which are to be ascribed to him'.235
Mercado tried to convince the Royal Chancery to adopt a contrary position. However, he proved unsuccesful, as follows from the Chancery's final judgment.236
To conclude, the Royal Chancery condemned sellers in bad faith of land on which a hidden servitude lay to compensate all costs and damages (daños e costas) resulting from that fact.
 234 The corregidor was an official whose main duty was to safeguard the king's interest on provincial level. E.g. he had the power to overrule judgements of local judges, establish prices of goods as fixed in royal decrees etc. See De Villadiego Vascuñana y Montoya, Instrucción, 5.1, no. 7, fo. 109v; Bermúdez Aznar, El corregidor en Castilla durante la Baja Edad Media (1358-1474), passim.
235 Reg. ej., caja 1606, 42 (1588), sc. 4 (sentence given by the corregidor of Medina del Campo, top left):
'avia condenado a la parte contraria | a que dentro de seis dias redimiesse e | quitase los veinte mill maravedís de censso | \[etc.\] | e que pagase a su parte los danos e yn- | tereses que se le siguiesen e ubiesen seguido por estar ynpuesto el dicho censso | sobre las eredades del dicho su parte'.
236 Reg. ej., caja 1606, 42 (1588), sc. 4 (centre left column): 'Hallamos que el licenciado Barela teniente de corregidor en | la dicha villa de medina del campo que deste peito conoscio en la sentecia difinitiva que en el dio e pronuncio de que | de que por parte del dicho don antonio de mercado e fue apelado juzgo e pronuncio bien | y el susodicho apelo mal por ende devemos confirmar e confirmamos su juicio e sentencia, (transl.: we find that the learned Varela, deputy corregidor in | the said town of Medina del Campo who took notice of this case, in the final sentence that he gave and pronounced in it, a part | of which the said Don Antonio de Mercado appealed from, judged and pronounced correctly | and the abovementioned \[vid. Don Antonio de Mercado\] appealed without cause. We therefore must confirm and we confirm his \[i.e. the deputy corrigidor's\] | judgment and sentence)'.
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