ACCESSION e) Escritura (writing)

Art. 440: The ownership of property gives 2. Mixture (confusion – liquids;

the right by accession to everything which commixtion – solids)
is produced thereby, or which is
incorporated or attached thereto, either 3. Specification
naturally or artificially.

Accession
- Right of the owner to everything which is Art. 441: To the owner belongs the
produced thereby, or which is natural, industrial, and civil fruits.
incorporated or attached thereto,
either naturally or artificially. Accession Discreta (To the Fruits)
1) Natural Fruits
NOTE: Accession is NOT a mode of 2) Industrial Fruits
acquiring ownership BUT a right included 3) Civil Fruits
in ownership.
NOTE:
7 MODES OF ACQUIRING Action to recover paraphernal
OWNERSHIP: property – intervention of other spouse is
1) Occupation NOT NEEDED
2) Intellectual Creation
3) Law If fruits are to be recovered – other
4) Donation spouse MUST JOIN the action as co-owner
5) Succession of the fruits.
6) Tradition
7) Prescription *Art. 441 is not absolute because there
are cases where the owner is not entitled
CLASSIFICATION OF ACCESSION: to the fruits of his property.
1) ACCESSION DISCRETA (To the
fruits) Exceptions of Art. 441:
a) Natural fruits a) Usufruct
b) Industrial fruits - ex: hidden treasure which may be found
c) Civil fruits on the land or tenement, he shall be
considered a stranger.
2) ACCESSION CONTINUA (Attachment
or Incorporation) b) In lease of rural lands
A. Real Property (Immovable) - The lessee is entitled to the natural and
1. Accession Industrial industrial fruits while the lessor is entitled
a) Building to civil fruits in the form of the rent paid
b) Planting by the lessee.
c) Sowing
c) Antichresis
2. Accession Natural - The creditor acquires the right to
a) Alluvium – deposit of clay, sand, receive the fruits of an immovable of his
gravel left by flowing streams debtor, with the obligation to apply them
b) Avulsion – sudden separation of to the payment of the interest, if owing,
land from one property and its attachment and thereafter to the principal of his
to another credit.
c) Change of course of rivers
d) Formation of islands d) In possession in good faith
- A possessor in good faith is entitled to
B. Personal Property (Movable) the fruits received by him before his
1. Adjunction or Conjunction possession is legally interrupted.
a) Inclusion (engraftment)
b) Soldadura (attachment) e) Fruits naturally falling
c) Tejido (weaving)
d) Pintura (painting)
- Fruits naturally falling upon adjacent
land belong to the owner of the said land
and not to the owner of the tree (Art.
681)
Art. 442: Definition of Fruits
Fruits
1) Natural Fruits
a) Spontaneous products of the soil
- herbs, common grass
b) Young and other products of animals
- Chicken eggs, wool, milk
NOTE:
1) Trees which grew spontaneously on the
soil and adhering thereto are not
considered as natural fruits because they
are immovables.
2) Absence of any agreement to settle the
ownership of the offspring, the young
belongs to the owner of the female
parent. (Partus sequitur ventrem) ***
2) Industrial Fruits (Requirement)
a) Produced by lands of any kind;
b) Produced thru cultivation or labor
NOTE:
- Industrial fruits must come from the soil.
3) Civil Fruits
- Income or revenues derived from the
property itself, such as:
a) Rent of buildings
b) Price of leases
c) Amount of perpetual or life annuities or
other similar income
NOTE:
- A bonus is not considered a civil fruit
because it is not derived from the
property itself but a compensation for the
risk assumed by the owner.
Art. 443: He who receives the fruits has
the obligation to pay the expenses made
by a 3rd person in their production,
gathering and preservation.
- The recipient of the fruits was not the
same person who incurred the expenses in
connection with its production, gathering
and preservation.
Example:
A – owner of a piece of land
B – gathered the fruits (in bad faith)
Who owns the fruits?
- A is the owner of the fruits BUT B must
be reimbursed.
NOTE: 443 vs 449
Art. 449 – crops have not yet been
gathered
Art. 443 – crops have already been
gathered
If possessor is in Good Faith
- He is entitled to the fruits received by
him before his possession is legally
interrupted.
When Refundable (Requisites)
1) They are dedicated to the annual
production and not merely for purposes of
improvement;
2) They be not superfluous, excessive, or
for luxury but rather they be
commensurate with that required by the
products.
Art. 444: Only such as are manifest or
born are considered as natural or
industrial fruits.
With respect to animals, it is
sufficient that they are in the womb of the
mother, although unborn.
Two Kinds of Crops:
1) Annual Crops
- deemed manifest the moment their
seedlings appear from the ground,
although the grains have not yet actually
appeared
2) Perennial Crops
- deemed to exist only when they actually
appear on the trees
Animals
- They are considered only at the
commencement of the maximum ordinary
period of gestation
Rules for Civil Fruits as Distinguished
from Natural and Industrial Fruits
a) Personal property – civil fruits that
accrue daily
Real property – natural and industrial
fruits
b) Civil fruits – can be pro-rated
Natural and Industrial – ordinarily cannot
Accession Continua (Only if the owner is
known)
- The right of the owner to anything which
is incorporated or attached to his
property.
- It involves the union of 2 or more things
belonging to different owners in such a
manner that they cannot be separated
from each other or from one another
without causing a substantial injury to any
of the things involved.
- It applies when there is a controversy
as to who shall be entitled.
Presupposes Absence of Agreement
- The situation shall be governed by the
agreement of the parties.
Art. 445: Whatever is built, planted or
sown on the land of another and the
improvements or repairs made thereon,
belong to the owner of the land,
subject to the provisions of the following
articles.
Sowing vs Planting
Sowing – each deposit of seed gives rise
merely to a single crop or harvest
Planting – more or less permanent trunks
or trees are produced, which in turn
produce fruits
Basic Principles of Accession Continua
(Accession Industrial)
a) The union or attachment or the
incorporation must cannot be separated
from each other without causing a
substantial physical or juridical injury.
*Otherwise: the respective owners retain
their ownership without effects on the
others.
b) Accessio Cedit Principali – the
accessory follows the principal
- The owner of the principal thing has the
right to claim ownership of the accessory
thing.
c) No one should enrich himself unjustly
at the expense of another;
d) Good faith exonerates a person from
punitive liability and damages.
- He who acts in good faith may be held
responsible for his act but should not be
penalized.
e) Bad faith subjects a person to damages
and other unfavorable consequences.
f) Bad faith of one party neutralizes the
bad faith of the other so both should be
considered in good faith
One Exception to the General Rule
Enunciated in Art. 445 whereby the
Owner of the Land is also the Owner
of Whatever is Built, Planted, or Sown
Thereon
a) improvements, whether useful or
ornamental, which are made on the
separate property of the spouses, thru
advancements from the conjugal
partnership, belong not to the owner of
the property but to the conjugal
partnership
b) buildings constructed at the expense
of the partnership on land belonging
to the wife or husband, shall belong not
Latin Legal Maxims in Connection
with Accession Industrial
a) Accessorium non ducit sed sequitor
suum principali – the accessory does not
lead but follows its principal.
b) Accessorium sequitor naturam rei cui
accredit – the accessory follows the nature
of that to which it relates.
c) Aedification solo, solo credit – What is
built upon the land goes with it; or the
land is the principal, and what ever is built
on it become the accessory.
Art. 446: All works, sowing, and
planting are presumed made by the
owner and at his expense, unless the
contrary is proved.
Juris Tantom Presumptions:
a) The works, sowing and planting were
made by the owner;
b) They were made at the owner’s
expense (Even though another actually
undertook the task).
Art. 447: The owner of the land who
makes thereon, personally or through
another, planting, constructions or works
with the materials of another, shall pay
their value; and, if he acted in bad faith,
he shall also be obliged to the reparation
of damages.
The owner of the materials shall
have the right to remove them only in
case he can do so without injury to the
work constructed, or without the
plantings, constructions or works being
destroyed.
However, if the landowner acted in
bad faith, the owner of the materials may
remove them in any event, with a right to
be indemnified for damages.
Rules When Landowner Constructs or
Plants on His Land With the Materials
of Another
a) The owner of the land who uses the
materials of another;
b) The owner of the materials.
NOTE: The law presumes that the owner
of the materials is in good faith.
LEGAL CONSEQUENCES:
1) Landowner and Owner of the
materials acted in Good Faith
i. The responsible for the attachment or
incorporation is exenorated from punitive
liability and damages;
ii. Landowner is given the right to
appropriate what has been built, planted
or sown but with the obligation to
indemnify the owner of the materials.
-LO can return only if such removal can be
done without injury to the work
constructed.
2) Both acted in bad faith
- LO is considered to be in good faith if he
honestly believed that the materials were
his at the time that he made use of them,
otherwise, he is in bad faith.
- OotM is considered to be in good faith if
he was not aware that his materials were
being used by the LO.
3) Owner of the materials is in good
faith while the landowner acted in
bad faith
i. LO is liable to the owner of the materials
for damages.
ii. LO shall also suffer the other
unfavorable consequences of his act, the
owner of the materials has option:
1) demand for the value of the materials
2) demand for the removal of the
materials
iii. Without prejudice to the criminal
liability of the landowner for the unlawful
taking and use of the materials of another
without the latter’s knowledge and
consent
4) The owner of the materials acted
in bad faith while the landowner
acted in good faith
- The owner of the materials who acted in
bad faith loses his materials without any
right whatsoever and is furthermore liable
to the landowner for damages.
Rights and Obligations of the Owner
of the Land Who Uses the Materials of
Another
a) If the landowner acted in good faith
- He becomes the owner of the
materials but he must pay for their value
- Exception: If the materials can be
removed without destruction to the work
(Pwede i-remove san owner san materials
ang work)
b) If the landowner is in bad faith
The landowner becomes the owner of the
materials but he must pay:
1) Value
2) Damages
Exception: When the owner of the
materials decides to remove them
whether or not destruction would be
caused.
Rights and Obligations of the Owner
of the Materials
a) If the landowner acted in good faith
1) Entitled to reimbursement
2) Entitled to removal (no injury)
b) If the landowner acted in bad faith
1) Absolute right of removal and
damages (whether with injury or not)
2) Entitled to reimbursement and
damages (in case he chooses not to
remove)
Meaning of Bad Faith and Good Faith
in Connection with Art. 447
a) The builder, planter or sower is in BAD
FAITH if he makes use of the land or
materials which he knows belong to
another.
b) He is in GOOD faith if he did not know
that he had no right to such land or
materials.
c) The owner of the materials is in BAD
faith if he allows another to use the
materials without informing him of the
ownership thereof.
d) The owner of the materials is in GOOD
faith if he did not know that another was
using his materials; or granting that he
did know, if he informed the user of the
ownership thereof and made the
necessary prohibition.
Art. 448: Builder in Good Faith
*The option is only given to the landowner
Rule When On the Land of a Person in
Good Faith, Another Builds, Sows, or
Plants in Bad Faith
Example:
On O’s land, B built in good faith a house.
O is in good faith. What are O’s right?
a) To appropriate for himself the house
upon payment of the proper indemnity;
b) To compel the builder B to buy the
land upon which the house has been built,
unless the value of the land be
considerably more than the value of the
house.
Why Option Is Given to the
Landowner and Not to the Planter or
Builder
a) His right is older
b) By the principle of accession, he is
entitled to the ownership of the accessory
thing
Indemnities to be Given
a) Necessary expenses
- Those made for the preservation of the
thing
b) Useful expenses
- Those that augment the income of the
thing upon which they are spent
c) Luxurious expenses – if he desires to
appropriate them for himself

When Art. 448 Is Applicable and

When It is Not Applicable
Applies
- Only when the builder, planter or sower
really believes he has the right to so build,
plant or so because he thinks he owns
the land

Does not Apply

- When the builder, planter, or sower does
not claim ownership over the land, but
possesses it as mere holder, agent,
usufructuary, or tenant.
- He knows that the land is not his.

Rule if Landowner Refuses to Make

the Choice
a) To pay for the building
b) To sell the land to the builder who was
in good faith.

Art. 449: He who builds, plants or sows in

bad faith on the land of another, loses
what is built, planted or sown without
right to indemnity.

Art. 450: The owner of the land on which

anything has been built, planted, or sown
in bad faith may demand the demolition
of the work, or that the planting or sowing
be removed, in order to replace things in
their former condition at the expense of
the person who built, planted or sowed;
or he may compel the builder or planter
to pay the price of the land, and the
sower the proper rent.

Art. 451: In the cases of the 2 preceding

articles, the landowner is entitled to
damages from the builder, planter or
sower.

The Three Articles on Bad Faith

Example: