Page 124 - Latent Defect or Excessive Price?Exploring Early Modern Legal Approach to Remedying Defects in Goods Exchanged for Money - Bruijn

CHAPTER THREE
provisions in accordance with the ius commune-view taken from D. 19.1.13pr. that the ignorant seller is liable in a restricted sense, whereas the knowing seller can be sued for all damages which the buyer suffered because of the defect.205 Similar to Bartolus and Baldus he considers SP 5.8.14 about the lessor's liability for barrels as an exceptional case and does not discuss why the ignorant seller in those texts was held fully liable, contrary to D. 19.1.13pr.206 Albornoz even seems to limit the liability of a knowing seller to paying back the paid price, thus ignoring altogether the rule of D. 19.1.13pr.207
Another issue pertaining to the extent of the liability for latent defects is whether or not there should be an increased responsibility in terms of liability for professional sellers or lessors. Though I did not find it explicitly in the civil law sources, there are scholars who discuss this question in their treatment of the remedy for lesion beyond moiety. The matter will therefore be treated further on in this chapter.208
3.3.3.1 Legal practice
Contrary to contemporary civil law doctrine, Castilian legal practice proved quite reluctant in granting remedies for latent defects against sellers in good faith. In the Royal Chancery's case law, I found no cases in which compensation is claimed for a defect of which the seller was not aware or the absence of which he had not guaranteed. In fact, in the majority of the pleitos studied it is explicitly stated by the buyer that the seller had knowledge of the flaws in his wares or that he had given an explicit warranty of the thing's quality.209 That one of the principles spelled out in D. 19.1.13pr., viz. not to allow rescission against sellers in good faith, – which principle was incorporated in Siete Partidas 5.5.63/64 –, also governed Castilian legal practice follows from various writs of execution won by buyers of slaves. The writs demonstrate that the duped buyer's claim for rescission is always grounded in the seller's bad faith.210
emphasis\]', in: Los códigos españoles, vol. 3, p. 631.
205 López, Gloss El comprador es tenudo to SP 5.5.57, in: Los códigos, vol. 3, p. 629: 'Adde l. Julianus, 13,
§ si venditor 4, et § idem Julianus 6, D. de action. empt. et l. si quis affirmaverit 9, D. de dolo \[D. 19.1.13.4, 6 and D. 4.3.?\]; idem, Gloss sabia esto to SP 5.5.64, in: Los códigos, vol. 3, p. 630: 'Adde dict. l. Julianus in princ. \[D. 19.1.13pr\] et l. 1 in princ. D. de aedilit. edicto \[D. 21.1.1pr.\] et l. 1, C. de aedilit. action \[C. 4.58.1\]; idem, Gloss si lo sabe el vendedor to SP 5.5.65, in: Los códigos, vol. 3, p. 631: 'Idem dic, et si ignoret, ut in l. 1, § causa huius edicti, 2, De aedil. edict. \[D. 21.1.1.2\].
206 López, Gloss Non fuesse sabidor to SP 5.8.14, in: Los códigos, vol. 3, p. 652: 'Speciale est hoc in doliis vitiosis, sive locentur, sive vendantur: quia tale vitium de facili potuit sciri, ut hic et in l. sed addes, 19, § 1, D. eod. \[D. 19.2.19.1\] et vide in materia distinctionem Bald. in l. in rebus, §item qui sciens, D. commod. \[Baldus, Commentaria, vol. 7, to D. 13.6.18, fo .86v\]'.
207 Albornoz, Arte, 2.14.1, fo. 61v: 'El que viende qualquiera bestia con Tacha o enfermededad (si sabiendo la no lo dize) ... ha de tornar el precio \[my emphasis\]'.
208 See 3.4.1.
209 E.g., pl. civ., F. Alonso (f.), caja 494, 3 (1571), sc. 8: 'compro y al cara conto quel | dicho cavallo no sufre
es | puelas y se compuso muy rri- | xoso por las quales | tachas | e por cada una dellas por | avia las callado el dicho pedro hortiz de villa lones'; pl. civ., F. Alonso (f.), caja 494, 3, sc. 7: '...y es ansi que el dicho pedro hortiz de villalon el moco ven- | dio el dicho cavallo por sano | y de hedad de cinco ansi sin | ninguna tacha'; pl., civ., C. Escalera (f.), caja 2690, 2 (1762), sc. 3: '...con condicion de que fuese bueno y a toda | calidad y que se havia de vender a la postura dada'.
210 Reg. ej., caja 352, 37 (1521), sc. 1: 'en al tiempo que le vendio la dicha esclaba se la | vendio e entrego por sana e buena e no hera ansy'; reg. ej., caja 360, 49 (1521), sc. 2: 'le avya dado e pagado e negocie-
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