CHAPTER FIRST.-Commodatum.

SECTION FIRST.-Nature of commodatum.

ART. 1741. The bailor retains the ownership of the thing loaned. The bailee acquires the use thereof, but not its fruits; if any compensation is involved, to be paid by the person requiring the use, the agreement ceases to be a commodatum.

ART. 1742. The obligations and rights which arise from the commodatum pass to the heirs of both contracting parties, unless the loan has been made in consideration for the person of the bailee, in which ease his heirs shall not have the right to continue using the thing loaned.

SECTION SECOND.-Obligations of the bailee.

ART. 1743. The bailee is obliged to pay the ordinary expenses which are necessary for the use and preservation of the thing loaned.

ART. 1744. If the bailee puts the thing to a different use than that for which it was loaned, or keeps it in his possession for a longer time than that agreed upon, he shall be liable for its loss, even when said loss occurs by reason of a fortuitous event.

ART. 1745. If the thing loaned was delivered under appraisal and is lost, even it be by reason of a fortuitous event, the bailee shall be liable for its value, unless there is an agreement in which he is expressly exempted from liability.

ART. 1746. The bailee is not liable for the wear and tear suffered by the thing loaned by reason of its use only, and without his fault.

ART. 1747. A bailee can not retain the thing loaned under the pretext that the bailor owes him something, even should it be by reason of expenses.

ART. 1748. All the bailees to whom the thing is jointly loaned shall be jointly liable for the same, in accordance with the provisions of this section.

SECTION THIRD.-Obligations of the bailor.

ART. 1749. A bailor can not demand the thing loaned, except after the termination of the use for which he loaned it. Nevertheless, if before this period the bailor has an urgent necessity for the same, he may demand its restitution.

ART. 1750. If the duration of the commodatum should not have been stipulated nor the use to which the thing loaned was to be devoted, and the latter should not be determined by the customs of the land, the bailor may demand it at his will.

In case of doubt the burden of proof falls upon the bailee.

ART. 1751. The bailor must pay the extraordinary expenses arising during the contract for the preservation of the thing loaned, provided that the bailee informs him thereof before making them, unless they should be so urgent that the answer to the notice can not be waited for without risk.

ART. 1752. The bailor who, knowing the vices of the thing loaned, should not have informed the bailee thereof, shall be liable to him for the damages he may have suffered by reason thereof.

CHAPTER SECOND.-Simple loan.

ART. 1753. A person receiving money or any other perishable thing on loan acquires its ownership, and is bound to return to the creditor an equal amount of the same kind and quality.

ART. 1754. The obligation of a person taking money on loan shall be governed by the provisions of article 1170 of this Code.

If what has been loaned is another perishable thing, or a quantity of metal, not coined, the debtor owes a quantity equal to that received, and of the same kind and quality, even though it may have suffered a change in its value.

ART. 1755. Interest shall only be owed when it has been expressly stipulated.

ART. 1756. A borrower who has paid interest without it being stipulated can not claim it nor charge it to the capital.

ART. 1757. Pawn shops shall furthermore be subject to the proper regulations.

TITLE XI.-DEPOSITUM.

CHAPTER FIRST.-Depositum in general and its different kinds.

ART. 1758. A depositum is constituted from the time a person receives a thing belonging to another with the obligation of keeping and returning it.

ART. 1759. A depositum may be constituted judicially or extrajudicially.

CHAPTER SECOND.-Depositum properly speaking.

SECTION FIRST.-Nature and essence of the contract depositum.

ART. 1760. Depositum is a gratuitous contract, unless there is an agreement to the contrary.

ART. 1761. Personal property only can be an object of a depositum. ART. 1762. An extrajudicial depositum is either necessary or voluntary.

SECTION SECOND.-Voluntary depositum.

ART. 1763. A voluntary depositum is that in which the delivery is made by the will of the bailor. The depositum may be made by two or more persons who believe themselves to have a right to the thing bailed in the hands of a third person, who shall, in a proper case, deliver said thing to the proper person.

ART. 1764. If a person qualified to contract accepts the depositum made by another who is an incapacitated person, the former is subject to all the obligations of a bailee, and may be compelled to return it by the guardian, curator, or administrator of the person who made the depositum, or by the same person, should he become qualified.

ART. 1765. If the depositum has been made by a qualified person, in the hands of another who is incapacitated, the bailor shall only have the action to recover the thing bailed as long as it remains in the possession of the bailee, or to compel the latter to pay him the sum by which he may have profited by the thing, or its price.

SECTION THIRD.-Obligations of the bailes.

ART. 1766. A bailee is obliged to keep the thing, and, when required, to return it to the bailor or to his legal representatives, or to the person who may have been designated in the contract. His liability, with regard to the keeping and loss of the thing, shall be governed by the provisions of title first of this book.

ART. 1767. The bailee can not make use of the thing bailed without the express permission of the bailor.

Otherwise he shall be liable for losses and damages.

ART. 1768. When the bailee has permission to make use of the thing bailed, the contract loses the character of a depositum and becomes a loan or a commodatum.

The permission shall not be presumed, and its existence must be proven.

ART. 1769. When the thing bailed is delivered closed and sealed, the bailee must return it in the same condition, and shall be liable for the losses and damages if the seal or lock should have been broken by his fault.

Such bailee is presumed to be to blame unless the contrary is proven. With regard to the value of the thing bailed, the statement of the bailor shall be admitted when the forcible opening can be charged to the bailee, should there be no proof to the contrary.

ART. 1770. The thing bailed shall be returned with all its proceeds and accretions.

Should the depositum consist of money, the provisions relating to agents, contained in article 1724, shall be applied to the bailee.

ART. 1771. The bailee can not demand that the bailor prove that he is the owner of the thing bailed.

Nevertheless, should he discover that the thing has been stolen and who is its true owner, he must inform the latter of the depositum.

If the owner, notwithstanding this, does not claim the depositum within the term of one month, the bailee shall be free from any liability by returning the thing bailed to the person from whom he received it.

ART. 1772. If there are two or more bailors, and they should not be joint and the thing can be divided, each one can demand his part only. When they are joint bailors, or the thing does not admit of division, the provisions of articles 1141 and 1142 of this code shall govern. ART. 1773. When the bailor loses his capacity to contract, after having made the depositum, the latter can not be returned except to the persons who have the administration of his property and rights.

ART. 1774. When, on making the depositum, a place was designated for the return of the thing bailed, the bailee must take the thing bailed to such place; but the expense incurred by the conveyance shall be charged to the bailor.

Should no place have been designated for the return, it shall be made at the place where the thing bailed may be, even should it not be the same place where the depositum was made, provided there was no malice on the part of the bailee.

ART. 1775. The depositum shall be returned to the bailor when he claims it, even though a specified term or time for such return may have been fixed in the contract.

This provision shall not be observed when the depositum in the possession of the bailee has been judicially attached, or should the Îatter have been notified of the objection of a third person to the return or to the transfer of the thing bailed.

ART. 1776. The bailee, who may have sufficient reasons for not keeping the depositum, may, even before the term designated, return it to the bailor, and if the latter refuses it, he may obtain its consignation from the judge.

ART. 1777. The bailee, who may have lost the thing bailed through force majeure and received another in its place, shall be obliged to deliver the latter to the bailor.

ART. 1778. The heir of the bailor who, in good faith, may have sold the thing which he did not know was bailed, is only obliged to return the price he may have received or to assign his actions against the purchaser in case the price should not have been paid to him.

SECTION FOURTH.-Obligations of the bailor.

ART. 1779. A bailor is obliged to reimburse the bailee for the expenses he may have incurred in the preservation of the thing bailed, and to indemnify him for all the injuries he may have suffered by reason of the depositum.

ART. 1780. The bailee may retain the thing bailed until the full payment of what is due him by reason of the depositum.

SECTION FIFTH.-Necessary depositum.

ART. 1781. A depositum is necessary:

1. When made in compliance with a legal obligation.

2. When it takes place on account of any calamity, such as fire, ruin, pillage, shipwreck, or other similar cases.

ART. 1782. The depositum included in the first number of the preceding article shall be governed by the provisions of the law which establishes it, and, in the absence thereof, by those of voluntary depositum.

Those included in the second number shall be governed by the rules of voluntary depositum.

ART. 1783. The depositum of goods made by travelers in inns or hostelries shall also be considered a necessary one. The keepers of inns and hostelries are liable for them as such bailees, provided that notice thereof may have been given to them or to their employees, and that the travelers on their part take the precautions which said innkeepers or their substitutes may have advised them concerning the care and vigilance of said goods.

ART. 1784. The liability referred to in the preceding article shall include damages to the goods of the travelers caused by servants or employees of the keepers of inns or hostelries as well as by strangers, but not those arising from robbery or which may be caused by any other case of force majeure.

CHAPTER THIRD.-Sequestration.

ART. 1785. A judicial deposit or sequestration takes place when an attachment or placing in security of property in litigation is ordered. ART. 1786. Personal as well as real property may be subject to sequestration.

ART. 1787. The bailee of the property or things sequestrated can not be released from his charge until the controversy which caused it is ended, unless the judge should order it on account of the consent of all the persons interested, or for any other legal cause.

ART. 1788. The bailee of property sequestrated is obliged to comply with regard thereto with all the obligations of a good father of a family.

ART. 1789. Judicial sequestration shall be governed by the provisions of the law of civil procedure in whatever is not prescribed in

this code.

TITLE XII.-ALEATORY CONTRACTS, OR THOSE DEPENDING ON CHANCE.

CHAPTER FIRST.-General provision.

ART. 1790. By an aleatory contract one of the parties binds himself, or both mutually bind themselves, to give or do something as an equivalent for what the other party is to give or do in case of the occurrence of an event which is uncertain or may happen at an undetermined time.

CHAPTER SECOND.-Insurance contracts.

ART. 1791. An insurance contract is one by which the underwriter is liable for the fortuitous damages which may occur to the insured personal or real property, in consideration of a certain price, which may be unrestrictedly fixed by the parties.

ART. 1792. Two or more owners may mutually insure against fortuitous damages which may occur to their respective property. This contract is called mutual insurance, and, when it has not been otherwise stipulated therein, it is understood that such damages shall be paid by all the contracting parties in proportion to the value of the property which each one has insured.

ART. 1793. An insurance contract must be made in a public or private instrument signed by the contracting parties.

ART. 1794. Said instrument must specify

1. The designation and situation of the things insured and their value.

2. The kind of risks for which indemnity is stipulated.

3. The day and hour on which the effects of the contract commence and end.

4. All the other conditions to which the contracting parties have agreed.

ART. 1795. The contract is of no effect with regard to the part in which the amount of the insurance exceeds the value of the thing insured, and more than one insurance can not be collected for the whole value of the same.

Should two or more insurance contracts exist involving the same object, each underwriter shall be liable for the damage, in proportion to the capital he may have insured, until the full value of the thing insured has been paid by them.

ART. 1796. Should the damage occur, the insured must inform the underwriter and all the other persons concerned thereof within the stipulated time, and, in its absence, within twenty-four hours, to be