ACCESSION DISCRETA

(RIGHT OF ACCESSION WITH RESPECT TO WHAT IS PRODUCED BY PROPERTY)

 
Art. 441. To the owner belongs:
 
      (1) The natural fruits;
 
      (2) The industrial fruits;
 
      (3) The civil fruits. (354)
 
Art.  442.  Natural  fruits  are  the  spontaneous  products  of  the  soil, and the young and other products of animals.
 
Industrial  fruits  are  those  produced  by  lands  of  any  kind  through cultivation or labor. Civil  fruits  are  the  rents  of  buildings,  the  price  of  leases  of  lands and other property and the amount of perpetual or life annuities or other similar income. (355a)

 

TECHNICAL MEANING OF FRUITS

     The term natural, civil and industrial fruits as defined by the Code are  highly  technical,  therefore,  when  they  are  found  in  a  final judgment, there can be no doubt as to their meaning
 

NATURAL FRUITS

     The spontaneous products of the soil
     The young and other products of animals
 

INDUSTRIAL FRUITS

     Those produced by lands of any kind through cultivation or labor
 

YOUNG OF ANIMALS

     The  offspring  of  animals  belong  to  the  owner  of  the  mother—applicable when the male and female belong to different owners
     This follows the maxim of “pratus sequitor ventrem”—the offspring follows the dam or mother
 
Art.  443. He  who  receives the fruits has the obligation to pay the expenses  made  by  a  third  person  in  their  production,  gathering, and preservation. (356)
 

CHARACTERISTIC OF THE EXPENSES REFERRED TO IN ARTICLE 443

     They   must   have   been   used   for   production,   gathering,   or preservation, not for the improvement of the property
     They must have been necessary and not luxurious or excessive
 
Art.  444.  Only  such  as  are  manifest  or  born  are  considered  as natural or industrial fruits.
 
With respect to animals, it is sufficient that they are in the womb of the mother, although unborn. (357)

 

RULES FOR CIVIL FRUITS AS DISTINGUISHED FROM NATURAL AND INDUSTRIAL FRUITS

1.    Civil  fruits  accrue  daily  and  are  therefore  considered  in  the category of personal property; natural and industrial fruits, while still growing, are real property
2.    Civil  fruits  can  be  prorated  while  natural  and  industrial  fruits cannot ordinarily
 

RIGHT OF ACCESSION WITH RESPECT TO REAL PROPERTY (ACCESSION INDUSTRIAL)

 
Art. 445. Whatever is built, planted or sown on the land of another and  the  improvements  or  repairs  made  thereon,  belong  to  the owner  of  the  land,  subject  to  the  provisions  of  the  following articles. (358)
 
Art.  446.  All  works,  sowing,  and  planting  are  presumed  made  by the owner and at his expense, unless the contrary is proved. (359)
 
Art. 447. The owner of the land who makes thereon, personally or through   another,   plantings,   constructions   or   works   with   the materials of another, shall pay their value; and, if he acted in bad
faith,  he  shall  also  be  obliged  to  the  reparation  of  damages.  The owner of the materials shall have the right to remove them only in case  he  can  do  so  without  injury  to  the  work  constructed,  or without  the  plantings,  constructions  or  works  being  destroyed. However,  if  the  landowner  acted  in  bad  faith,  the  owner  of  the materials  may  remove  them  in  any  event,  with  a  right  to  be indemnified for damages. (360a)

Art. 448. The owner of the land on which anything has been built, sown or planted in good faith, shall have the right to appropriate as his  own  the  works,  sowing  or  planting,  after  payment  of  the indemnity provided for in Articles 546 and 548, or to oblige the one who built or planted to pay the price of the land, and the one who sowed, the proper rent. However, the builder or planter cannot be obliged to buy the land if its value is considerably more than that of the building or trees. In such case, he shall pay reasonable rent, if
the owner of the land does not choose to appropriate the building
or  trees  after  proper  indemnity.  The  parties  shall  agree  upon  the
terms of the lease and in case of disagreement, the court shall fix
the terms thereof. (361a)
 
Art. 449. He who builds, plants or sows in bad faith on the land of another,  loses  what  is  built,  planted  or  sown  without  right  to indemnity. (362)
 
Art. 450. The owner of the land on which anything has been built, planted  or  sown  in  bad  faith  may  demand  the  demolition  of  the work,  or  that  the  planting  or  sowing  be  removed,  in  order  to replace  things  in  their  former  condition  at  the  expense  of  the person who built, planted or sowed; or he may compel the builder or  planter  to  pay  the  price  of  the  land,  and  the  sower  the  proper rent. (363a)
 
Art. 451. In the cases of the two preceding articles, the landowner is entitled to damages from the builder, planter or sower. (n)
 
Art.  452.  The  builder,  planter  or  sower  in  bad  faith  is  entitled  to reimbursement  for  the  necessary  expenses  of  preservation  of  the land. (n)
 
Art. 453. If there was bad faith, not only on the part of the person who built, planted or sowed on the land of another, but also on the part of the owner of such land, the rights of one and the other shall be the same as though both had acted in good faith.
 
It is understood that there is bad faith on the part of the landowner whenever  the  act  was  done  with  his  knowledge  and  without opposition on his part. (354a)
 
Art.  454.  When  the  landowner  acted  in  bad  faith  and  the  builder, planter or sower proceeded in good faith, the provisions of article 447 shall apply. (n)
 
Art. 455. If the materials, plants or seeds belong to a third person who has not acted in bad faith, the owner of the land shall answer subsidiarily for their value and only in the event that the one who made use of them has no property with which to pay.
 
This provision shall not apply  if the owner makes use of the right granted  by  article  450.  If  the  owner  of  the  materials,  plants  or seeds has been paid by the builder, planter or sower, the latter may demand from the  landowner  the value of the  materials and  labor. (365a)
 
Art.  456.  In  the  cases  regulated  in  the  preceding  articles,  good faith does not necessarily exclude negligence, which gives right to damages under article 2176. (n)