Fishbowl Provisions

Question 1

Art. 1868

Answer 1

By the contract of agency, a person binds himself to render some service or to do something in representation or on behalf of another, with the consent or authority of the latter.

Question 2

Art. 1869

Answer 2

Agency may be express, or implied from the acts of the principal, from his silence or lack of action, or his failure to repudiate the agency, knowing that another person is acting on his behalf without authority.

Agency may be oral, unless the law requires a specific form.

Question 3

Art. 1873

Answer 3

If a person specially informs another or states by public advertisement that he has given a power of attorney to a third person, the latter thereby becomes a duly authorized agent, in the former case with respect to the person who received the special information, and in the latter case with regard to any person.

The power shall continue to be in full force until the notice is rescinded in the same manner in which it was given.

Question 4

Art. 1874

Answer 4

When a sale of a piece of land or any interest therein is through an agent, the authority of the latter shall be in writing; otherwise, the sale shall be void.

Question 5

Art. 1875

Answer 5

Agency is presumed to be for compensation, unless there is proof to the contrary.

Question 6

Art. 1877

Answer 6

An agency couched in general terms comprises only acts of administration, even if the principal should state that he withholds no power or that the agent may execute such acts as he may consider appropriate, or even though the agency should authorize a general and unlimited management.

Question 7

Art. 1878

Answer 7

Special powers of attorney are necessary in the following cases:

(1) To make such payments as are not usually considered as acts of administration;

(2) To effect novations which put an end to obligations already in existence at the time the agency was constituted;

(3) To compromise, to submit questions to arbitration, to renounce the right to appeal from a judgment, to waive objections to the venue of an action or to abandon a prescription already acquired;

(4) To waive any obligation gratuitously;

(5) To enter into any contract by which the ownership of an immovable is transmitted or acquired either gratuitously or for a valuable consideration;

(6) To make gifts, except customary ones for charity or those made to employees in the business managed by the agent;

(7) To loan or borrow money, unless the latter act be urgent and indispensable for the preservation of the things which are under administration;

(8) To lease any real property to another person for more than one year;

(9) To bind the principal to render some service without compensation;

(10) To bind the principal in a contract of partnership;

(11) To obligate the principal as a guarantor or surety;

(12) To create or convey real rights over immovable property;

(13) To accept or repudiate an inheritance;

(14) To ratify or recognize obligations contracted before the agency;

(15) Any other act of strict dominion.

Question 8

Art. 1882

Answer 8

The limits of the agent’s authority shall not be considered exceeded should it have been performed in a manner more advantageous to the principal than that specified by him.

Question 9

Art. 1883

Answer 9

If an agent acts in his own name, the principal has npo right of action against the persons with whom the agent has contracted; neither have such persons against the principal.

In such case the agent is the one directly bound in favor of the person with whom he has contracted, as if the transaction were his own, except when the contract involves things belonging to the principal.

The provisions of this article shall be understood to be without prejudice to the actions between the principal and agent.

Question 10

Art. 1884

Answer 10

The agent is bound by his acceptance to carry out the agency, and is liable for the damages which, through his non-performance, the principal may suffer.

He must also finish the business already begun on the death of the principal, should delay entail any danger.

Question 11

Art. 1885

Answer 11

In case a person declines an agency, he is bound to observe the diligence of a good father of a family in the custody and preservation of the goods forwarded to him by the owner until the latter should appoint an agent. The owner shall as soon as practicable either appoint an agent or take charge of the goods.

Question 12

Art. 1886

Answer 12

Should there be a stipulation that the agent shall advance the necessary funds, he shall be bound to do so except when the principal is insolvent.

Question 13

Art. 1887

Answer 13

In the execution of the agency, the agency, the agent shall act in accordance with the instructions of the principal.

In default thereof, he shall do all that a good father of a family would do, as required by the nature of the business.

Question 14

Art. 1888

Answer 14

An agent shall not carry out an agency if its execution would manifestly result in loss or damage to the principal.

Question 15

Art. 1889

Answer 15

The agent shall be liable for damages if, there being a conflict between his interests and those of the principal, he should prefer his own.

Question 16

Art. 1890

Answer 16

If the agent has been empowered to borrow money, he may himself be the lender at the current rate of interest. If he has been authorized to lend money at interest, he cannot borrow it without the consent of the principal.

Question 17

Art. 1891

Answer 17

Every agent is bound to render an account of his transactions and to deliver to the principal whatever he may have received by virtue of the agency, even though it may not be owing to the principal.

Any stipulation exempting the agent to render an account shall be void.

Question 18

Art. 1892

Answer 18

The agent may appoint a substitute if the principal has not prohibited him from doing so; but he shall be responsible for the acts of the substitute:

(1) When he was not given the power to appoint one;

(2) When he was given such power but without designating the person, and the person appointed is notoriously incompetent or insolvent.

All acts of the substitute appointed against the prohibition of the principal shall be void.

Question 19

Art. 1894

Answer 19

The responsibility of two or more agents, even though they have been appointed simultaneously, is not solidary, if solidarity has not been expressly stipulated.

Question 20

Art. 1895

Answer 20

If solidarity has been agreed upon, each of the agents is responsible for the non-fulfillment of the agency , or the fault or negligence of his fellow agents, except in the latter case when the fellow agents acted beyond the scope of their authority.

Question 21

Art. 1896

Answer 21

The agent owes interest on the sums he has applied to his own use from the day on which he did so, and on those which he still owes after the extinguishment of the agency.

Question 22

Art. 1897

Answer 22

The agent who acts as such is not personally liable, unless he expressly binds himself, or exceeds the limits of his authority without giving such party sufficient notice of his powers.

Question 23

Art. 1898

Answer 23

If the agent contracts in the name of the principal, exceeding the scope of his authority, and the principal does not ratify the contract, it shall be void if the party with whom the agent contracted is aware of the limits of the powers granted by the principal. In this case, however, the agent is liable if he undertook to secure the principal’s ratification.

Question 24

Art. 1899

Answer 24

If a duly authorized agent acts in accordance with the orders of the principal, the latter cannot set up the ignorance fo the agent as to circumstances whereof he himself was, or ought to have been, aware.

Question 25

Art. 1900

Answer 25

So far as third persons are concerned, an act is deemed to have been performed within the scope of the agent’s authority, if such act is within the terms of the power of attorney, as written, even if the agent has in fact exceeded the limits of his authority according to an understanding between the principal and the agent.

Question 26

Art. 1901

Answer 26

A third person cannot set up the fact that the agent has exceeded his powers, if the principal has ratified, or has signified his willingness to ratify the agent’s acts.

Question 27

Art. 1902

Answer 27

A third person with whom the agent wishes to contract on behalf of the principal may require the presentation of the power of attorney, or the instructions as regards the agency. Private or secret orders and instructions of the principal do not prejudice third persons who have relied upon the power of attorney or instructions shown them.

Question 28

Art. 1903

Answer 28

The commission agent shall be responsible for the goods received by him in the terms and conditions and as described in the consignment, unless upon receiving them he should make a written statement of the damage and deterioration suffered by the same.

Question 29

Art. 1905

Answer 29

The commission agent cannot, without the express or implied consent of the principal, sell on credit. Should he do so, the principal may demand from him payment in cash, but the commission agent shall be entitled to any interest or benefit, which may result from such sale.

Question 30

Art. 1907

Answer 30

Should the commission agent receive on a sale, in addition to the ordinary commission, another called a guarantee commission, he shall bear the risk of collection and shall pay the principal the proceeds of the sale on the same terms agreed upon with the purchaser.

Question 31

Art. 1909

Answer 31

The agent is responsible not only for fraud, but also for negligence, which shall be judged with more or less rigor by the courts, according to whether the agency was or was not for a compensation.

Question 32

Art. 1910

Answer 32

The principal must comply with all the obligations which the agent may have contracted within the scope of his authority.

As for any obligation wherein the agent has exceeded his power, the principal is not bound except when he ratifies it expressly or tacitly.

Question 33

Art. 1911

Answer 33

Even when the agent has exceeded his authority, the principal is solidarily liable with the agent if the former allowed the latter to act as though he had full powers.

Question 34

Art. 1912

Answer 34

The principal must advance to the agent, should the latter so request, the sums necessary for the execution of the agency.

Should the agent have advanced them, the principal must reimburse him therefor, even if the business or undertaking was not successful, provided the agent is free from all fault.

The reimbursement shall include interest on the sums advanced, from the day on which the advance was made.

Question 35

Art. 1913

Answer 35

The principal must also indemnify the agent for all the damages which the execution of the agency may have caused the latter, without the fault or negligence on his part.

Question 36

Art. 1914

Answer 36

The agent may retain in pledge the things which are the object of the agency until the principal effects the reimbursement and pays the indemnity set forth in the two preceding articles.

Question 37

Art. 1915

Answer 37

If two or more persons have appointed an agent for a common transaction or undertaking, they shall be solidarily liable to the agent for all the consequences of the agency.

Question 38

Art. 1916

Answer 38

When two persons contract with regard to the same thing, one of them with the agent and the other with the principal, and the two contracts are incompatible with each other, that of prior date shall be preferred, without prejudice to the provisions of Article 1544.

Question 39

Art. 1917

Answer 39

In the case referred to in the preceding article, if the agent has acted in good faith, the principal shall be liable in damages to the third person whose contract must be rejected. If the agent acted in bad faith, he alone shall be responsible.

Question 40

Art. 1918

Answer 40

The principal is not liable for the expenses incurred by the agent in the following cases:

(1) If the agent acted in contravention of the principal’s instructions, unless the latter should wish to avail himself of the benefits derived from the contract;

(2) When the expenses were due to the fault of the agent;

(3) When the agent incurred them with knowledge that an unfavorable result would ensue, if the principal was not aware thereof;

(4) When it was stipulated that the expenses would be borne by the agent, or that the latter would be allowed only a certain sum.

Question 41

Art. 1919

Answer 41

Agency is extinguished:

(1) By its revocation;

(2) By the withdrawal of the agent;

(3) By the death, civil interdiction, insanity or insolvency of the principal or of the agent;

(4) By the dissolution of the firm or corporation with entrusted or accepted the agency;

(5) By the accomplishment of the object or purpose of the agency;

(6) By the expiration of the period for which the agency was constituted.

Question 42

Art. 1920

Answer 42

The principal may revoke the agency at will, and compel the agent to return the document evidencing the agency. Such revocation may be express or implied.

Question 43

Art. 1923

Answer 43

The appointment of a new agent for the same business or transaction revokes the previous agency from the day on which notice thereof was given to the former agent, without prejudice to the provisions of the two preceding articles.

Question 44

Art. 1925

Answer 44

When two or more principals have granted a power of attorney for a common transaction, any one of them may revoke the same without the consent of the others.

Question 45

Art. 1927

Answer 45

An agency cannot be revoked if a bilateral contract depends upon it, or if it is the means of fulfilling an obligation already contracted, or if a partner is appointed manager of a partnership in the contract of partnership and his removal from the management is unjustifiable.

Question 46

Art. 1928

Answer 46

The agent may withdraw from the agency by giving due notice to the principal. If the latter should suffer any damage by reason of the withdrawal, the agent must indemnify him therefor, unless the agent should base his withdrawal upon the impossibility of continuing the performance of the agency without grave detriment to himself.

Question 47

Art. 1929

Answer 47

The agent, even if he should withdraw from the agency for a valid reason, must continue to act until the principal has had reasonable opportunity to take the necessary steps to meet the situation.

Question 48

Art. 1930

Answer 48

The agency shall remain in full force and effect even after the death of the principal, if it has been constituted in the common interest of the latter and of the agent, or in the interest of a third person who has accepted the stipulation in his favor.

Question 49

Art. 1931

Answer 49

Anything done by the agent, without knowledge of the death of the principal or of any other cause which extinguishes the agency, is valid and shall be fully effective with respect to third persons who may have contracted with him in good faith.

Question 50

Art. 1932

Answer 50

If the agent dies, his heirs must notify the principal thereof, and int he meantime adopt such measures as the circumstances may demand in the interest of the latter.