Short answer. Article 1165 of the Civil Code lets you compel delivery of that exact item, on top of the right to damages under Article 1170. If the seller delays or has promised the same specific thing to more than one buyer with different interests, the seller also bears the risk of any fortuitous loss until delivery finally happens.
What the law says
When what is to be delivered is a determinate thing, the creditor, in addition to the right granted him by article 1170, may compel the debtor to make the delivery.
Civil Code, Article 1165 — Remedies for Failure to Deliver. Read the full provision →
What the law says
Those who in the performance of their obligations are guilty of fraud, negligence, or delay, and those who in any manner contravene the tenor thereof, are liable for damages.
Civil Code, Article 1170 — Liability for Fraud, Negligence, Delay. Read the full provision →
You can compel delivery of the specific item
Article 1165 gives you a direct remedy where a determinate thing — a specific, identified item rather than something generic — was what you were promised: the creditor, in addition to the right granted him by article 1170, may compel the debtor to make the delivery. Because the item you bought is a particular, identifiable thing, you are not limited to accepting a substitute or a refund; the law lets you insist on the actual item you contracted for.
Delivery and damages are not either-or
Article 1165 makes clear this right to compel delivery exists in addition to what Article 1170 already grants. Article 1170 provides that those who in the performance of their obligations are guilty of fraud, negligence, or delay, and those who in any manner contravene the tenor thereof, are liable for damages. So a seller's refusal to deliver can expose them to a claim for damages under Article 1170 on top of, not instead of, your right to demand the item itself under Article 1165.
If the seller promised the same item to someone else
Article 1165 addresses a specific complication: if the obligor delays, or has promised to deliver the same thing to two or more persons who do not have the same interest, he shall be responsible for any fortuitous event until he has effected the delivery. Ordinarily, a debtor is not liable for loss caused by a genuine accident or unforeseeable event. Once the seller delays, or has double-promised the item to buyers with conflicting interests, that protection disappears — the seller bears the risk of loss from that point on, even if the loss was through no fault of their own.
What this means for pursuing the item
Together, these articles put you in a stronger position than a buyer of ordinary, replaceable goods would be in: you can pursue the specific item itself rather than settle for equivalent goods, and you can add a claim for damages caused by the seller's fraud, negligence, or delay. Keep the purchase agreement, any proof of the item's specific identity, and a record of the seller's refusal or delay, since establishing that the thing was genuinely determinate — and that the seller in fact delayed or double-promised it — is what these remedies depend on.
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.
- Equatorial Realty, et al. vs. Mayfair Theater, G.R. No. 106063, November 21, 1996 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- Rebecca T. Cabutihan vs. Landcenter Construction & Development Corporation, G.R. No. 146594, June 10, 2002 — read the decision on LawPhil →