Section Second: Risks

Article 635

Art. 635 - The contractor of work or services may not entrust its execution to another person when it appears from the nature of the work or from the agreement of the parties that the principal had an interest in the contractor personally fulfilling their obligation.

Article 636

Art. 636 - The lessor of labor or services is liable not only for their fault, but also for their negligence, recklessness, or lack of skill. Any stipulation to the contrary is without effect.

Article 637

The lessor is equally liable for damage resulting from the failure to execute the instructions which he received, when they were formal and when he had no sufficient reason to not observe them; when such a reason exists, he must, if there is no imminent danger, notify the principal and await his new instructions.

Article 638

Art. 638 - The lessor is liable for the actions of persons he substitutes, employs, or assists him, as if it were his own actions. However, when he is necessitated, due to the nature of the work, to be assisted, he is not held liable if he proves: 1. that he has exercised all due diligence in the selection and supervision of these persons; 2. that he has done, insofar as it concerns him, everything possible to prevent the non-performance of the obligation and its damaging consequences.

Article 639

The lessor who provides only his labor is required to take care of the preservation of things which have been entrusted to him for the execution of the hiring of labor or industry. He must return them after this execution and he is liable for loss or deterioration if it has not resulted from a case of force majeure and when he was not in default. The defect of the thing or its extreme fragility, if it determines the loss, is treated as a case of force majeure. The burden of proof of force majeure rests with the lessor. When these things were not necessary for the execution of the work, he is liable for them only as a depositary.

Article 640

Art. 640 - The fraudulent subtraction or loss or deterioration by fire of the things that the lessee must return to the lessor or principal are not considered in themselves as cases of force majeure exonerating the lessee, if the latter does not prove that he has exercised all diligence to protect himself against these risks.

Article 641

Innkeepers and hoteliers are responsible for any deterioration, destruction or theft of items brought by travelers who lodge with them, unless they prove that the damage is attributable to the traveler himself, to persons who visit him, accompany him or are in his service, or that it results either from an event of force majeure or from the nature of the thing deposited.

Article 642

Art. 642 - Innkeepers and hoteliers are not liable for documents, valuables, securities, or precious objects that have not been handed over to them or to their employees.