One of my co-debtors made a deal with the creditor that wiped out our solidary debt - are the rest of us released, and does he owe us anything?

One debtor can extinguish the whole obligation

In a solidary debt, an act by one debtor can end the obligation for everyone. Article 1215 provides that novation, compensation, confusion or remission of the debt, made by any of the solidary creditors or with any of the solidary debtors, shall extinguish the obligation, without prejudice to the provisions of article 1219. So when your co-debtor struck a deal with the creditor that novated or otherwise wiped out the debt, the obligation is extinguished as to the creditor. That means the creditor can no longer come after you or the other co-debtors for it. Toward the outside world — the creditor — all of you are released.

The internal accounting between co-debtors

Whether that debtor owes you anything, or you owe him, turns on how the debt was wiped out and who paid for it. If he extinguished it at his own expense — by paying, by giving property in a novation, or by offsetting his own credit against the debt — he generally may claim from each of you the share that corresponds to you, because his act benefited the whole group. If instead the creditor simply forgave the debt through him as a pure act of generosity, no one paid anything, and there is nothing to reimburse in either direction. The cost, not merely the deal, drives who accounts to whom.

The safeguard in Article 1219

The extinguishment is expressly made without prejudice to the provisions of article 1219. That companion article protects co-debtors who have already paid. It states that the remission made by the creditor of the share which affects one of the solidary debtors does not release the latter from his responsibility towards the co-debtors, in case the debt had been totally paid by anyone of them before the remission was effected. In short, a creditor's later forgiveness of one debtor's share cannot be used to escape settling up with co-debtors who had already footed the bill. The internal balance among you is preserved.

Limits to keep in mind

The release depends on a genuine, complete extinguishment. If the deal only reduced or partly settled the debt, the obligation survives to that extent and the creditor may still pursue the balance. The creditor also cannot collect twice — having extinguished the debt through one debtor, he cannot turn around and demand it from the rest. Because the consequences among co-debtors depend on the exact nature of the arrangement, it is worth getting the terms of the settlement in writing and keeping proof of any payment made, so that contribution or reimbursement can be sorted out cleanly later.

Cases citing this provision

These Supreme Court decisions cite the provision above. We list them so you can read them yourself; the summaries of what each decided are not ours to give.

• Benedicto V. Yujuico vs. Far East Bank and Trust Company, G.R. No. 186196, August 15, 2018 — read the decision on LawPhil →
• Roxaco-Asia Hospitality Corporation vs. Gulf Canary Contruction and Development, Inc. and Asia United Insurance, Inc, G.R. No. 246250, September 29, 2025 — read the decision on LawPhil →
• Great Asian Sales Center Corporation, et al. vs. The Court of Appeals, et al, G.R. No. 105774, April 25, 2002 — read the decision on LawPhil →

Related provisions

• Civil Code, Article 1215 — Novation, Compensation, Confusion, Remission by a Solidary Party