3 - Consequences of the Seller's Warranty

Article 449

Art. 449 - When there is a case for redhibition, either due to defects or due to the absence of certain qualities, the buyer may pursue the rescission of the sale and the restitution of the price. He is also entitled to damages: a - When the seller was aware of the defects of the thing or the absence of the qualities he promised and did not declare that he was selling without warranty: such awareness is always presumed when the seller is a merchant or an artisan who sells the products of the art he practices; b - When the seller declared that the defects did not exist, unless it is a matter of defects that only became apparent after the sale, or that the seller could have been unaware of in good faith; c - When the qualities whose absence is established were expressly stipulated or were required by commercial usage.

Article 450

Art. 450 - When the sale concerns a set of determined things and one part of it is defective, the buyer has the right to avail himself of the faculty granted to him by the preceding article. When the sale concerns fungible things, the buyer can only demand the delivery of a quantity of things of the same species, free from apparent defects, without prejudice to his recourse for damages if the case so requires.

Article 451

Article 451 - If the sale has for its object several different things purchased in bulk and for a single price, the buyer may, even after delivery, have the sale rescinded for the defective portion of these objects and have restituted a proportional part of the price; however, when the objects cannot be separated without damage, for example, when they form a pair, he can have the contract rescinded only for the whole.

Article 452

Art. 452 - The termination due to the defect of the principal thing also extends to the accessories, even when the price thereof has been fixed separately. The defect of the accessory thing does not terminate the sale of the principal thing.

Article 453

Art. 453 - The reduction in price is made by establishing, on the one hand, the value of the thing in a healthy state at the time of the contract and, on the other hand, the value it has in the state in which it is found. When the sale has as its object several things purchased in a single lot, the evaluation is made on the basis of the value of all the things constituting the lot.

Article 454

Article 454 - In case of rescission of the sale, the buyer must restore: 1 - The thing affected by a redhibitory defect, as he received it, with its accessories and what formed part of it, as well as the accessions that have become incorporated into it since the contract. 2 - The fruits of the thing from the moment of amicable rescission or of the judgment that pronounces it, as well as the fruits prior to that date. However, when the fruits were not formed at the time of the sale, the buyer makes them his own, if he has gathered them, even before their maturity; he also makes his own the fruits that have reached their maturity, even though he has not collected them. On the other hand, the seller is bound: 1 - To compensate the buyer for the costs of cultivation, watering or maintenance and the costs relating to the fruits that the buyer has restored to him; 2 - To restore the price that he received, as well as the legal costs of the contract; 3 - To indemnify the buyer for losses that the thing may have caused him, if the seller was in bad faith.

Article 455

Art. 455 - The buyer shall have no right to restitution or price reduction if he cannot return the thing in the following cases: 1 - If the thing has perished due to force majeure or by the fault of the buyer or persons for whom the latter is responsible; 2 - If the thing has been stolen or withheld from the buyer; 3 - If he has transformed the thing in such a way that it can no longer serve its original purpose.

Article 456

Article 456 - If the thing sold has perished because of the defect with which it is affected or of a case of force majeure caused by this defect, the loss is for the seller, who is bound to restore the price. He is further bound to pay damages-interest, if he is in bad faith.

Article 457

Art. 457 - There is no grounds for termination, and the buyer can only request a price reduction: 1 - If the thing has been damaged by his fault or by that of the persons for whom he is responsible; 2 - If he has used it for a purpose that significantly diminishes its value. This provision applies in the case where use was made of the thing before the defect was known; if he made use of the thing after, Article 462 applies.

Article 458

Art. 458 - The reduction in price obtained due to a recognized defect does not prevent the buyer from requesting either the cancellation of the sale or a new reduction in price, if another defect becomes apparent.