Short answer. Yes, where the goods have not yet been delivered. If the buyer repudiates the sale, shows he cannot perform, or breaches it, the seller may totally rescind by giving the buyer notice of that election. No court order is required first, but the notice is essential.
What the law says
Where the goods have not been delivered to the buyer, and the buyer has repudiated the contract of sale, or has manifested his inability to perform his obligations thereunder, or has committed a breach thereof, the seller may totally rescind the contract of sale by giving notice of his election so to do to the buyer.
Civil Code, Article 1597 — Seller's Rescission for Buyer's Breach. Read the full provision →
The condition that comes first: no delivery yet
Everything in this provision depends on the goods still being with the seller. Once they have been delivered to the buyer, this route closes and the seller's position becomes a claim for the price or for damages, or a case for rescission on other grounds. The rule exists because a seller still holding the goods has not yet given up anything, so releasing him from the bargain restores both sides to where they started without unwinding a completed transfer. Sellers sometimes assume that because they still hold title, or because payment is outstanding, they may rescind freely — but the trigger here is possession not yet parted with, and that is the first thing to check.
Three grounds, and one of them does not need an actual default
The buyer may have repudiated the contract — told the seller plainly that he will not go through with it. He may have manifested his inability to perform, which does not require a missed payment at all; a buyer whose financing has collapsed or who has become insolvent has shown he cannot perform even though nothing is yet overdue. Or he may have committed a breach. Any one of the three is enough. The second ground is the practically useful one, because it lets a seller act on clear signs of failure instead of waiting for the due date and then joining the queue of creditors.
The notice is the act of rescission
The Code says the seller rescinds "by giving notice of his election so to do to the buyer." Two things follow. First, the rescission is the seller's own act — he does not need to obtain a judgment before treating the contract as at an end. Second, the notice is not a courtesy; without it there is nothing that marks the contract as rescinded, and a seller who simply resells the goods in silence leaves himself arguing after the fact about when and whether he ever elected. Put the notice in writing, state the ground, date it, and send it in a way you can prove was received. The rescission is total — the seller cannot keep the parts of the contract that suit him.
What rescinding costs you, and what it does not settle
Rescission is a choice, and choosing it means giving up the alternative of insisting on performance and suing for the price. It also does not automatically entitle the seller to keep deposits or advances already received; sums paid on a contract that has been undone generally have to be accounted for, and a court will look at what the contract itself provided. Nor does rescinding erase a claim for the loss the breach caused, which is pursued separately. Finally, this provision addresses goods; a sale of land follows different rules, and cancelling a notarised deed is a different problem entirely. Where the value is significant or the buyer disputes the ground, have the notice drafted or reviewed by counsel before it goes out, because that document will be the centre of any later argument.