Short answer. Yes. When the thing owed to you is lost through a third person's act and that loss extinguishes the debtor's obligation, the law transfers to you all the rights of action the debtor had against that third party. You step into the debtor's shoes and may pursue the wrongdoer for the loss.
What the law says
The obligation having been extinguished by the loss of the thing, the creditor shall have all the rights of action which the debtor may have against third persons by reason of the loss.
Civil Code, Article 1269 — Creditor's Right to Actions Against Third Persons. Read the full provision →
The loss does not leave you empty-handed
When a determinate thing is destroyed without the debtor's fault, his obligation to deliver it is extinguished — that much can feel like the creditor simply loses out. Article 1269 prevents that unfair result. It provides that, the obligation having been extinguished by the loss of the thing, the creditor shall have all the rights of action which the debtor may have against third persons by reason of the loss. In other words, the claim against whoever actually caused the destruction does not vanish; it is redirected from the debtor to you.
You inherit the debtor claim
This is a form of legal subrogation to a claim. Since the debtor is released and no longer owns the thing's fate, it would make no sense to leave the right against the wrongdoer sitting uselessly with him. So the law hands you all the rights of action the debtor had against the third person arising from the loss. You may pursue the third party directly, on the same footing the debtor could have, whether the claim sounds in damages for a wrongful act or on some other legal ground the debtor possessed.
What the transferred right covers
The right you receive is measured by what the debtor himself had — no more and no less. If the third person destroyed the thing through fault or negligence, the debtor's action for damages passes to you. If the debtor also held a contractual or insurance-type claim connected to the loss, that too may be within the rights of action referred to. You are asserting the debtor's cause of action, so the strength of your claim rises or falls with the strength of the claim the debtor would have had against that third person.
The boundaries of the article
Article 1269 applies where the loss actually extinguished the obligation — that is, a determinate thing lost without the debtor's fault. If the debtor was himself at fault or in delay, the obligation is not extinguished and different rules decide his liability to you instead. The article also transfers existing rights; it does not create a claim against a third person who bears no legal responsibility for the loss. What it guarantees is that a blameless destruction by an outsider leaves the injured creditor, not a released debtor, holding the remedy.