Page 226 - Latent Defect or Excessive Price?Exploring Early Modern Legal Approach to Remedying Defects in Goods Exchanged for Money - Bruijn
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EARLY MODERN DUTCH LAW
not granted, 'against ignorant sellers, D. 21.1.1.10 and D. 21.1.4.3-6'. Thus, he implies that against sellers who were aware of a non-corporeal defect, there is a remedy.47 In this, Vinnius very closely follows Doneau, who also maintained that non-corporeal defects were actionable under the sales contract in the event of mala fide sellers only. Gerard Noodt (1647-1725)48, Johannes Voet (1647-1713)49, Cornelis van Eck (1662-1732)50, Johannes Ortwinus Westenberg (1667-1737)51 and Johann Gottlieb Heineccius (1681-1741)52 take the same view. Concerning the remedies for latent defects granted on the sales contract against sellers ignorant of defects in wood or cattle53, Noodt ponders that the remedies in that text are granted in imitation of the aedilician edict. The text D. 19.1.13pr. consequently does not discuss the action on the sales contract but really the aedilician remedies, so that corporeal defects remain the edict's prerogative.54
On the other hand, Hugo Grotius (1583-1645)55 in his Inleidinghe does not mention corporeal or non-corporeal defects. Instead he contends that the ignorant seller always has to answer for defects and that his liability is measured to his knowledge. Grotius shifts the emphasis to whether or not the seller was aware of the defect and ignores what kind of defect the liability concerns.56
Roman-Frisian law is not clear on how the matter should be dealt with. Johan Jakob Wissenbach (1607-1665)57, a native German appointed as a professor of civil law in
47 Vinnius, Jurisprudentiae contractae, 2.15, p. 247: 'Adversus ignorante, d.l. 1, § pen. et ult., l. 4, § 3 et seq. de aed. ed.'.
48 Noodt, Commentarius, in: Opera omnia, vol. 2, to D. 21.1, p. 453 \[left column\]: 'de vitiis animi, quale vitium est erronis, ac fugitivi, separatim edixerunt Aediles; de hic non edicturi separatim, si morbi ac vitii appellatione tam animi, quam corporis vitia comprehendissent... ob quae vitia quia animi sunt non est redhibitio. Esse adhuc ex empto actionem ad id quod interest, si id venditor sciens reticuit, quia non videtur id convenire bonae fidae, etsi ab Aedilibus non comprehensum'; for biographical data J. van Kuyk, 'Noodt, Gerard', in: NNBW, vol. 2, pp. 999-1001.
49 Voet, Commentarius, vol. 2, to D. 21.1, no. 8, p. 739: 'Corporis quoque, non item animi solius vitium, edicto locum fecit... licet de hisce animi vitiis ex emto actio competat, d.l. 4. pr. ff. h.t. \[D. 21.1.4pr.\]'; for biographical data see J. van Kuyk, 'Voet, Johannes', in: NNBW, vol. 3, pp. 1328-1329.
50 Van Eck, Principia iuris civilis, vol. 2, to D. 21.1, nos. 17-18, p. 36: 'ut in rebus animatis sit vitium corporis, non animi... Sed et semper ob quae vitia cessat redhibitoria, locum habet ex empto actio. l. I. §. 9. in f. l. 5.pr. et §. 4. h.l. 13. §. I. de act. emt.'; for biographical data see J. van Kuyk, 'Eck, Cornelis van', in: NNBW, vol. 1, pp. 784-785.
51 Westenberg, Principia iuris, vol. 1, to D. 21.1, §10, pp. 773-774: 'Dummodo I. morbus vitiumve corporis sit, non animi, quod huc non pertinet, l. 1, §9, 10, \[D. 21.1.9-10\], l. 4, §3,4 \[D. 21.1.4.3-4\]'; for biographical data see J. van Kuyk, 'Westenberg, Johannes Ortwinus', in: NNBW, vol. 3, pp. 1408-1410.
52 Heineccius, Ad aedilitium edictum, 3.3, p. 75: 'Quum vero alia sint vitia corporis, alia animi: recte observabant interpretes, Aediles de corporis duntaxat morbis ac vitiis loqui, animi vero non alia attingere, quam erronis, fugitivi, et capitalem fraudem admittentis, ac proinde recte collegerunt II. cessare redhibitionem ob animi vitia, neque ea, nisi illa abesse promiserit venditor, ex edicto praestanda esse'; for biographical data see J. van Kuyk, 'Heineccius, Johann Gottlieb', in: NNBW, vol. 1, pp. 1055-1057; R. Lieberwirth, "Heineccius, Johann Gottlieb" in: NDB, vol. 8, pp. 296-297.
53 D. 19.1.13pr.
54 Noodt, Commentarius, in: Opera omnia, vol. 2, to D. 21.1, p. 453 \[center left\]: 'quod tum pridem Juliano
et mox Ulpiano visum in actione ex empto ad imitationem aedilitii edicti'.
55 For biographical data see P.J. Blok, 'Groot, Huig de', in: NNBW, vol. 2, pp. 523-528.
56 Grotius, Inleidinge, 3.15.7, pp. 245–246; idem, 3.17.4, p. 250.These passages will be discussed more in
detail in section 6.3.1.1.
57 For biographical data J. van Kuyk, 'Wissenbach, Johannes Jacobus', in: NNBW, vol. 3, pp. 1440-1441.
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