Short answer. Under Article 1204 of the Civil Code, your indemnity is based on the value of the last item that was destroyed or the last service that became impossible — not the first, and not an average. You may also claim damages beyond that baseline for any additional losses the debtor's fault caused.
What the law says
The creditor shall have a right to indemnity for damages when, through the fault of the debtor, all the things which are alternatively the object of the obligation have been lost, or the compliance of the obligation has become impossible. The indemnity shall be fixed taking as a basis the value of the last thing which disappeared, or that of the service which last became impossible. Damages other than the value of the last thing or service may also be awarded.
Civil Code, Article 1204 — Loss of All Alternatives Through Debtor's Fault. Read the full provision →
When Article 1204 applies
Article 1204 applies to alternative obligations — where the debtor owes one of several possible things or services — and specifically to the scenario where all of the alternatives have been destroyed or made impossible through the debtor's own fault. In an alternative obligation where the debtor normally holds the right to choose, the obligation survives as long as at least one alternative remains. But once all are gone through the debtor's fault, the debtor can no longer perform, and Article 1204 governs how to measure the creditor's compensation.
The baseline: value of the last item lost
The law fixes a specific anchor for the indemnity: the value of the last thing which disappeared, or the value of the service that last became impossible. This is a deliberate choice. Because the debtor could have delivered any one of the alternatives, and the last one still standing was the one the debtor ultimately failed to preserve, that final item's value marks the baseline of what performance would have been worth. It also prevents the debtor from benefiting by destroying the more valuable alternatives first and leaving a cheaper one as the last loss.
Additional damages beyond the baseline
Article 1204 expressly adds that damages other than the value of the last thing or service may also be awarded. This is an important extension. The baseline covers the object itself — what you were owed and did not receive. But if the debtor's fault caused you further harm — you had to find an emergency replacement at a premium, you lost a business opportunity that depended on timely delivery, or you suffered reputational harm from failing to supply a client — those additional losses are separately compensable. You need to prove them, but you are not limited to the baseline value alone.
What you need to establish your claim
To recover under Article 1204, you need to show three things: first, that the obligation was genuinely alternative — that the debtor had a choice among identified items or services; second, that all alternatives were lost or made impossible; and third, that the debtor's own fault caused each loss. If some alternatives were lost by accident and others by fault, different rules apply. Once all three elements are established, you can claim the value of the last-lost item and document any additional losses for the court to award on top.