Short answer. When property is contributed and appraised in the partnership inventory, the partnership, not the contributing partner, bears the risk of its loss, absent any stipulation. Article 1795 of the Civil Code adds that the partner's claim is then limited to the value at which the things were appraised.
What the law says
In the absence of stipulation, the risk of the things brought and appraised in the inventory, shall also be borne by the partnership, and in such case the claim shall be limited to the value at which they were appraised.
Civil Code, Article 1795 — Risk of Contributed Things. Read the full provision →
The default: the owner keeps the risk
When partners chip in property, someone must bear the loss if that property is later destroyed. Article 1795 of the Civil Code sorts this out. Its starting rule is that The risk of specific and determinate things, which are not fungible, contributed to the partnership so that only their use and fruits may be for the common benefit, shall be borne by the partner who owns them. In plain terms, if a partner lets the firm use a specific, unique thing, say a particular machine, while keeping ownership, he still bears the risk of its loss. Since he never gave the thing itself, only its use, the loss falls on him as owner.
When the partnership bears the risk
The rule flips for other kinds of contributions. Article 1795 says that If the things contribute are fungible, or cannot be kept without deteriorating, or if they were contributed to be sold, the risk shall be borne by the partnership. Fungible goods like money or grain, perishable things, and goods handed over specifically to be sold are treated as effectively transferred to the firm. Once they are meant to be consumed, replaced, or sold, it makes sense that the partnership, not the individual partner, absorbs any loss. In these cases the partner has parted with the thing itself, so he no longer carries the risk that the owner otherwise would.
Property appraised in the inventory
This brings us to the specific question. Article 1795 provides that In the absence of stipulation, the risk of the things brought and appraised in the inventory, shall also be borne by the partnership, and in such case the claim shall be limited to the value at which they were appraised. Two points follow. First, when contributed property has been listed and given a value in the partnership inventory, the partnership carries the risk of its loss, not the contributing partner, unless the partners agreed otherwise. Second, if the thing is lost, the partner's claim is capped at the appraised figure: he recovers that agreed value, not more, even if the item was arguably worth more.
Why appraisal matters
The appraisal, then, does two jobs at once. It shifts the risk of loss onto the partnership, protecting the contributing partner from bearing the loss himself. But it also fixes, in advance, exactly how much that protection is worth: the appraised value becomes both the ceiling and the measure of his claim. This is why partners should take the inventory valuation seriously when property goes in. Undervaluing an asset can leave the contributor short if it is later lost, while the whole scheme can be changed by agreement, since these rules apply only "in the absence of stipulation." A clear stipulation can allocate the risk differently.