Text of the provision
Art. 1505. Subject to the provisions of this Title, where goods are sold by a person who is not the owner thereof, and who does not sell them under authority or with the consent of the owner, the buyer acquires no better title to the goods than the seller had, unless the owner of the goods is by his conduct precluded from denying the seller's authority to sell. Nothing in this Title, however, shall affect:
(1) The provisions of any factors' act, recording laws, or any other provision of law enabling the apparent owner of goods to dispose of them as if he were the true owner thereof;
(2) The validity of any contract of sale under statutory power of sale or under the order of a court of competent jurisdiction;
(3) Purchases made in a merchant's store, or in fairs, or markets, in accordance with the Code of Commerce and special laws.
(n)
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
A buyer from a non-owner acquires no better title than the seller had (nemo dat quod non habet) — unless the owner is estopped, or under factors' acts, statutory/court sales, or purchases in a merchant's store, fair, or market.
Related provisions
- Article 1504 — Risk of Loss Follows Ownership.
- Article 1506 — Sale by One With Voidable Title.
Cases citing this article
- Sheriff Albert A. Dela Cruz of the Sandiganbayan Security and Sheriff Services, the Sandiganbayan Security and Sheriff Services vs. Wellex Group, Inc, G.R. No. 247439, August 23, 2023 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- Frank Colmenar, in his capacity as an heir of the late Francisco Colmenar, G.R. No. 252467, June 21, 2021 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- Delfin C. Gonzalez, Jr. vs. Magdaleno M. Peña, et al, G.R. No. 214303, January 30, 2017 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- Vicente Manzano, Jr. vs. Marcelino Garcia, G.R. No. 179323, November 28, 2011 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- Sps. Carlos & Eulalia Raymund et al. vs. Sps. Dominador & Rosalia Bandong, G.R. No. 171250, July 4, 2007 — read the decision on LawPhil →
Compiled automatically from Supreme Court decisions published on LawPhil that expressly cite this article, most frequently cited first. A listing means the decision cites the provision — it is not a statement that the case is the leading authority, and it does not show whether a ruling has since been modified or abandoned. Always read the decision itself.