Double Sale of Property: Determining Ownership and Buyer Remedies in French Law

Extract

[...] It is therefore opposable to third parties, including the private buyer. Furthermore, even if the buyer by authentic deed had knowledge of the private sale, if it took place first, his bad faith is without incidence on the effectiveness of the publicity, according to the aforementioned jurisprudence. However, the buyer's knowledge by authentic deed is not mentioned in the case at hand. Solution Finally, the private sale is valid between the seller and the buyer, but it is, on the other hand, inopposable to third parties. [...]

[...] The seller, by concluding a second sale, makes it impossible to execute his obligation of delivery and guarantee. This behavior constitutes a contractual non-performance engaging the seller's liability. Solution Finally, the private buyer, although ousted, has a recourse for damages and interest against the seller. The latter, in bad faith, has failed to fulfill his obligation of delivery and must make amends. Thus, French private law prioritizes the security of real estate transactions and the reliability of land registration, while maintaining strong liability for the unfaithful seller. [...]

[...] As a result, this leads to two issues: In the case of a double sale of a property, one by private deed and the other by authentic act, which buyer becomes the owner of the property vis-à-vis third parties? What remedies can the buyer under private signature who was ousted by the land registry, exercise against the seller in bad faith? Determination of the true owner in case of double sale of a property Majeure Common law sets the following principle: the transfer of ownership is immediate as soon as the agreement on the thing and the price is reached. [...]

[...] 132-3 of the Environmental Code, other than privileges and mortgages, which are kept in accordance with the modalities provided for in the Civil Code. - Article 30 : « 1. The judicial acts and decisions subject to publicity by application of Article 28, paragraph are, if they have not been published, not opposable to third parties who, on the same immovable property, have acquired, from the same author, concurrent rights by virtue of acts or decisions subject to the same publicity obligation and published, or have had privileges or mortgages registered. [...]

[...] La double vente immobilière may also be approached from a delictual angle: Article 1240 of the Civil Code provides that : « Any act whatever of man, which causes damage to another, obliges the one by whose fault it happened to repair it. Finally, in certain hypotheses, the seller's behavior can even fall under criminal law, the latter having acted with full knowledge. The jurisprudence confirms that if the private buyer cannot claim ownership, he retains a claim for damages against the seller (Cass. [...]