Text of the provision
Art. 1401. The action for annulment of contracts shall be extinguished when the thing which is the object thereof is lost through the fraud or fault of the person who has a right to institute the proceedings. If the right of action is based upon the incapacity of any one of the contracting parties, the loss of the thing shall not be an obstacle to the success of the action, unless said loss took place through the fraud or fault of the plaintiff.
(1314a)
Civil Code of the Philippines, Republic Act No. 386, approved June 18, 1949, effective August 30, 1950. Reproduced in full; verified verbatim against the LawPhil and ChanRobles official-text renderings.
What this article means
The annulment action is extinguished if the object is lost through the fraud or fault of the party entitled to sue. But if the action rests on incapacity, loss is no obstacle unless caused by the plaintiff's fraud or fault.
The rule draws a sharp line based on the ground for annulment. Where the defect is something like fraud or vitiated consent unrelated to capacity, a plaintiff who then loses or destroys the object of the contract through his own fraud or fault forfeits the right to sue, since restitution would no longer be possible through his own doing. Where incapacity is the ground, however, the law is more protective: loss of the thing does not bar the action unless the incapacitated plaintiff himself caused that loss through fraud or fault.
Questions about this provision
- My annulment case rests on my incapacity but the object was lost, is the loss an obstacle to the case?
- The thing my annulment case is about was lost through my own fault, can I still annul the contract?
Related provisions
- Article 1400 — Loss of the Thing to Be Returned.
- Article 1402 — Mutual Restitution Is Reciprocal.
Cases interpreting this article
- Authorities on this article will be added here as each is verified against primary sources.