Short answer. Yes. When you promise to contribute a specific piece of property to a partnership, you automatically warrant the partnership against eviction from that property — in the same way a seller warrants a buyer. If the partnership is later evicted, you are liable for the consequences.
What the law says
He shall also be bound for warranty in case of eviction with regard to specific and determinate things which he may have contributed to the partnership, in the same cases and in the same manner as the vendor is bound with respect to the vendee.
Civil Code, Article 1786 — Partner as Debtor for His Contribution. Read the full provision →
Three obligations Article 1786 creates
Article 1786 of the Civil Code imposes three distinct obligations on a contributing partner. First, every partner is a debtor of the partnership for whatever he may have promised to contribute — the promise itself creates a debt. Second, he shall also be bound for warranty in case of eviction with regard to specific and determinate things which he may have contributed to the partnership, in the same cases and in the same manner as the vendor is bound with respect to the vendee. Third, he is liable for the fruits of the contributed property from the time they should have been delivered, without any need for demand.
The warranty against eviction: what it means
Warranty against eviction is a guarantee that the person receiving the property will not be disturbed in their possession by someone with a better right or title. When you contribute land to a partnership, you are effectively making the same guarantee a seller makes to a buyer: that the partnership will be able to hold and use that land without being ousted by a third party whose claim predates or overrides yours. If a third person successfully asserts a better title and the partnership loses the land, your warranty is breached and you are liable.
When the warranty is triggered
The warranty applies to specific and determinate things — meaning a particular, identified piece of property, not a generic contribution of money or fungible goods. If you contributed cash to the partnership, no warranty of this kind arises. But if you identified a particular parcel of land and promised it to the partnership, the warranty attaches. It does not matter whether the title dispute was known to you at the time of the contribution; the obligation to warrant the partnership against eviction is automatic under Article 1786.
Liability for fruits from the time of delivery
Alongside the eviction warranty, Article 1786 makes you liable for the fruits of the contributed property from the time they should have been delivered — without any need for the partnership to demand them. If the land produces income — rental value, agricultural output, or any other benefit — from the date it was supposed to be turned over, that benefit belongs to the partnership. If you delayed delivery, you may owe the partnership for the fruits it lost during the period of delay, even if nobody formally demanded them from you.
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.
- Gold Line Tours, Inc. vs. Heirs of Maria Concepcion Lacsa, G.R. No. 159108, June 18, 2012 — read the decision on LawPhil →