Short answer. Yes, generally. Article 1528 of the Civil Code allows an unpaid seller who has made partial delivery to keep the lien on the remaining goods. The exception is if the circumstances of the partial delivery clearly showed you intended to waive your right to retain what was left.
What the law says
Where an unpaid seller has made part delivery of the goods, he may exercise his right of lien on the remainder, unless such part delivery has been made under such circumstances as to show an intent to waive the lien or right of retention.
Civil Code, Article 1528 — Lien After Part Delivery. Read the full provision →
The default rule: partial delivery does not destroy the lien
Article 1528 of the Civil Code protects the unpaid seller who has let some goods go while payment remains outstanding. The rule is that an unpaid seller who has made part delivery may still exercise the right of lien on the remainder. The fact that you released some of the goods is not automatically treated as a waiver of your rights over what you still hold. The lien survives over whatever has not yet been handed to the buyer.
The exception: conduct that shows intent to waive
The protection is not absolute. Article 1528 carves out one important exception: if the circumstances of the partial delivery show an intent to waive the lien or right of retention, the lien is gone. The law focuses on intent as demonstrated by the facts surrounding the delivery. No fixed formula determines what counts as a showing of intent to waive — it depends on what you said, what you did, how the delivery was arranged, and whether a reasonable reading of your conduct suggests you were giving up your hold on the remaining goods.
What kind of circumstances might suggest a waiver
The question of waiver is fact-specific, but there are warning signs. If you released part of the goods without any reservation, told the buyer the rest would follow shortly regardless of payment, or structured the delivery in a way that treated the partial delivery as a complete transaction for that portion, a court could read that as an intent to release your hold on everything. On the other hand, if you released only what the buyer had partially paid for while clearly indicating the rest was held pending full payment, that conduct is far less likely to support a finding of waiver.
Protecting your lien going forward
If you are still holding goods and have not yet been paid, clarity is your best protection. State your position plainly: you are retaining the remaining goods until full payment is received. Put it in writing — a message, a letter, even an email — so there is no room for the buyer to later argue that your conduct implied a waiver. If the buyer is already in financial difficulty and you are concerned about their ability to pay, consider your options: exercising the lien, withholding the remaining delivery, or exploring whether rescission of the sale is possible. A lawyer can help you choose the right path.