Short answer. Yes. Article 1572 of the Civil Code establishes a presumption that when a team, yoke pair, or set of animals is bought together, the buyer would not have purchased the healthy ones without the defective one. This means you may seek redhibition — return of the entire pair, not just the defective animal.
What the law says
The latter case shall be presumed when a team, yoke pair, or set is bought, even if a separate price has been fixed for each one of the animals composing the same.
Civil Code, Article 1572 — Redhibitory Defect When Several Animals Are Sold. Read the full provision →
The general rule and the team exception
Article 1572 of the Civil Code starts with a general rule: when multiple animals are sold together, a redhibitory defect in one gives rise only to the return of that one animal, not the others. If you bought five animals and one is defective, you ordinarily return just the defective one. But the law immediately carves out an exception for teams, yoke pairs, and sets. When animals are sold as a functional unit — the way a yoke of carabao is sold to work together — the law presumes you would not have taken the healthy one without the defective one, and redhibition may cover the whole pair.
Why the presumption applies to yoke pairs
A yoke of carabao is not simply two animals sold at the same time. They are bought to work in tandem — to plow a field together. One without the other is of diminished or even no practical use to a farmer who needed a working pair. The law recognizes this economic reality and creates a legal presumption that matches it: the buyer of a team, yoke pair, or set would not have taken the sound animals without the defective one. Importantly, the presumption applies even if a separate price was fixed for each animal. The price structure does not defeat the functional nature of the purchase.
What redhibition means for you
Redhibition is the remedy that allows a buyer to rescind the sale and return the defective thing, recovering the price paid. Under the yoke-pair presumption, this extends to the whole team. In practical terms, you would return both animals and receive back the full price you paid — not just a proportional refund for the defective one. The defect must be a redhibitory defect: one that makes the animal unfit for the use for which it was bought, or that so diminishes its usefulness that the buyer would not have purchased it, or would have paid a lower price, had it been known.
Can the presumption be overcome?
The presumption is not absolute. Technically, the seller could attempt to show that the pair was not truly a functional unit, or that the buyer would have purchased the healthy animal alone regardless of the defect. But the statute places the burden there, and for a yoke pair used as a working team, that burden is a heavy one. If you discover the defect and want to act on it, document everything promptly: photographs, veterinary findings, when the defect was discovered, and the circumstances of the original sale. Delays can weaken a redhibition claim.