Chapter Second: Warranty Required from the Manufacturer

Article 657

Art. 657 - The contract of hire of industry or contract of enterprise is governed by the general provisions of articles 624 to 628 inclusive and by the provisions resulting from the following articles.

Article 658

Art. 658 - In the contract for services, the lessor may provide only his labor, the material, if any, being procured by the principal; he may also provide, at the same time as his labor, the material. However, when the material provided by the person performing the work is the principal thing in the contract, the labor being only the accessory, there is a sale and not a contract for services.

Article 659

If there is no usage or contrary agreement, the industrial lessor must provide the instruments and utensils necessary for the accomplishment of the work.

Article 660

Art. 660 - If it is necessary, for the execution of the work, that the client undertakes something on their part, the contractor has the right to formally invite them to do so. After a reasonable deadline, and if the client has not fulfilled their obligation, the contractor has the choice, either to maintain the contract, or to pursue its termination, and may obtain in both cases compensation for the damage, if any, suffered by them.

Article 661

Resolution may be invoked by the master, after summons made to the lessor: 1 - When the lessor unduly delays in beginning the execution of the work. 2 - When he is in default of delivery unless the non-execution or delay in execution or delivery is imputable to the fault of the principal.

Article 662

Art. 662 - When, during the execution of the work, defects or flaws occur in the materials supplied by the employer, in the soil intended for construction, or otherwise, that are likely to compromise the execution of the work under satisfactory conditions, the contractor is required to immediately notify the employer; in case of omission, the contractor shall be liable for the damage resulting from these defects and flaws, unless they are of such a nature that a worker such as the contractor could not have known about them.

Article 663

Article 663 - When the lessor provides the material, he is liable for its quality. When the material is provided by the master or principal, the work contractor must use it according to the rules of the art and without negligence, account to the principal for the use he has made of it and return to him that which has not been used.

Article 664

Art. 664 - The lessor is also required to guarantee, in any case, the vices and defects resulting from his work. The provisions of articles 442, 446, and 449 apply to this guarantee.

Article 665

Article 665 - In the case provided for in the above article, the master may refuse to accept the work, or return it, if it has been delivered within the week following delivery, by fixing upon the worker a reasonable period to correct, if possible, the defect or deficiency in qualities; after this period has expired, and failing the contractor to fulfill his obligation, the principal may at his choice: 1) have the work corrected himself at the expense of the contractor, if correction is still possible; 2) request a reduction in price; 3) or seek rescission of the contract and leave the thing for account of he who made it. All this without prejudice to damages, if warranted. When the master has provided the material, he has the right to recover its value. The provisions of articles 453, 454 and 455 apply to the cases provided for in numbers 2 and 3 above.

Article 666

Art. 666 - When the master receives a defective or non-conforming work and is aware of its defects, yet fails to return it or reserve his rights in accordance with the provisions of the preceding article, the provisions of article 463 shall apply with regard to the time limit within which he may exercise his recourse, unless it is established that he had knowledge of the defects of the thing.

Article 667

Art. 667 - The guarantee provided for in articles 663 to 665 shall not apply when the defects in the work are caused by the formal instructions of the client, notwithstanding the contrary opinion of the contractor or the contractor's lessee or the lessor of the work.

Article 668

Article 668 - The architect or engineer and the contractor directly charged by the master are liable when, within five years from the completion of the building or other work whose execution or direction they have overseen, the work collapses, in whole or in part, or obviously threatens to collapse, due to the defect of materials, vice of construction or vice of the ground. If the architect has not directed the work, he is answerable only for the defect of his plan. The above-mentioned period of five years runs from the acceptance of the work. The action must be brought, under pain of inadmissibility, within thirty days from the day on which the fact giving rise to the guarantee occurred.

Article 669

Art. 669 - Any clause having as its object the exclusion or limitation of the guarantee provided for in the preceding articles shall be null and void.

Article 670

Art. 670 - The employer is required to receive the work if it is in conformity with the contract and to transport it at their own expense if it is capable of being transported.

Article 671

Article 671 - In all cases where the worker provides the material, if the work comes to perish, in whole or in part by case of force majeure, he is not liable for the loss, but he cannot claim payment from the moment the loss occurred before acceptance and without the master being in default of receiving it: the risks are therefore his. It is incumbent upon the contractor in this case to prove that the loss results from a case of force majeure if this occurs before the acceptance of the thing by the master.

Article 672

Art. 672 - In the case where the lessor provides only his labor or industry, he is not liable for the loss that occurs due to force majeure, but he may claim his wages if the thing has perished due to a defect in the material or when the master had received it or was in a position to receive it.