Short answer. By consignation. Article 1256 provides that where the creditor to whom tender of payment has been made refuses without just cause to accept it, the debtor is released from responsibility by consignation of the thing or sum due — that is, by depositing it with the court.

What the law says

If the creditor to whom tender of payment has been made refuses without just cause to accept it, the debtor shall be released from responsibility by the consignation of the thing or sum due.

Civil Code, Article 1256 — Tender of Payment and Consignation. Read the full provision →

Tender first, then consignation

Article 1256 of the Civil Code sets out the ordinary sequence: If the creditor to whom tender of payment has been made refuses without just cause to accept it, the debtor shall be released from responsibility by the consignation of the thing or sum due. Two acts, in order. Tender is the actual offer of what you owe, and it has to be a real offer of the full amount then due, not a proposal to discuss terms. Consignation is the deposit of that same amount with the judicial authority. Keeping the money in your own account, however sincerely you meant to pay, releases you from nothing.

When you can consign without tendering

The article lists five situations where consignation alone produces the same effect, because in each of them a tender would be pointless. They are: when the creditor is absent or unknown, or does not appear at the place of payment; when he is incapacitated to receive the payment at the time it is due; when, without just cause, he refuses to give a receipt; when two or more persons claim the same right to collect; and when the title of the obligation has been lost. The fourth is the common one in practice — competing claimants after a death or an assignment, where paying either is unsafe.

The refusal has to be without just cause

Not every rejection opens the door. A creditor who declines a partial amount is usually within his rights, since Article 1233 treats a debt as paid only when the thing or service has been completely delivered or rendered, and Article 1248 says he cannot be compelled to receive the prestations partially. The same goes for a tender of something other than what was owed. Before treating a refusal as unjustified, be sure that what you offered was the entire amount then due, in the form the contract called for, at the right place and time.

The notices are what most consignations fail on

Consignation is a formal remedy and the Code surrounds it with notice requirements. Article 1257 provides that consignation is ineffectual if it is not announced to the persons interested in the fulfilment of the obligation, and that it must in every case conform strictly with the provisions regulating payment. Article 1258 requires that it be made by depositing the thing due at the disposal of judicial authority, with proof of tender where required, and that the interested parties be notified again afterwards. Both notices, in writing and provable, are the difference between a deposit that discharges the debt and one that does not.

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.

Related provisions

Note. Statute text quoted on this page is reproduced from the official enactment and is linked to the full provision. The explanation around it is general legal information from Vivas & Nobles Law Office, not legal advice. Whether it applies to your situation depends on facts only a lawyer reviewing them can assess.