The Circumstances of Restitution

The person to whom restitution must be made is the person whose strict right has been violated, or, in his absence, it is society. But the following cases should be distinguished:

(a) when the injured person is known for certain and his right is certain, restitution should be made to the injured person or his representatives or successors, or, if this is not possible, to charitable or pious causes;

(b) when the injured person is entirely unknown, if the one who is the cause of the loss is in good faith, his obligations are those of a possessor in good faith; but if he is in bad faith, the common opinion is that he is bound, at least from customary law, to make restitution by giving to the poor or to religion;

(c) when the injured person is partly unknown, the person who is the cause of the loss should make restitution to the best of his ability. If the doubt extends to only a few persons (say four or five), any one of whom may be the injured person, restitution should be divided in the best way possible among these persons; if the doubt extends to many, but the injured persons were only a few, it seems that restitution may be made by giving to charity or religion either in the place of the injury or elsewhere; if the doubt extends to many, and the injured persons were many inhabitants of the locality, restitution must be made if possible to the injured parties themselves, otherwise to some public cause of the local community.

Order of Preference Among Creditors.—The natural order of preference is to be shown to creditors when the debtor is unable to pay them all.

(a) Those who have a right in re (e.g., those whose property is held by the debtor) have precedence over those who have only a right ad rem (e.g., those who are creditors from contract).

(b) Creditors from onerous contract or delinquency, it is generally admitted, have priority over creditors from gratuitous contract.

(c) Creditors from delinquency and creditors from onerous contract, according to what seems to be the common opinion, are equal in rights and should be settled with pro rata.

(d) Debts that are certain have priority over debts that are uncertain, according to some; others deny this, but admit that the uncertain debts need be paid only in proportion to their probability.

(e) Creditors who are certain are by some preferred to creditors who are uncertain; but others think that payment to the poor, in place of the unknown creditor, is the latter’s presumed will, and that it has an equal standing with debts owed to known creditors.

(f) Poor creditors have no just claim to preference over rich creditors; but charity dictates that, when the poor creditor is in distress, he should be given the preference.

(g) Earlier creditors have a preference over later creditors in a real claim, but it is disputed whether this holds also in a personal claim.

(h) The creditor who asks for a settlement sooner has a preference, if the petition is made juridically, and perhaps also if it is made privately.

The order of preference among creditors according to civil law is generally as follows: (a) proprietary creditors (i.e., those whose property is held by the debtor); (b) privileged creditors (i.e., those whose debts have a special urgency, such as judicial expenses, doctors’ bills, wages for hired help, living costs, etc.); (c) hypothecatory creditors (i.e., those who have claims against the property of the debtor, in the form of liens, mortgages, etc.); (d) common creditors (i.e., all those who are paid after the previous creditors have been satisfied). American law contains provisions in regard to dispositions of property made during the four months before bankruptcy is tiled, so as to protect the creditors of a person who is insolvent. The property of a bankrupt is placed in the hands of an assignee and allowance is made for the debtor’s needs and perfected liens (i.e., charges legally made upon property for debt). The property is then subject to levy by the creditors as follows: maintenance expenses, legal fees, costs of administration, wages of workmen, taxes, debts having priority under Federal or State law.

The “Thing” to Be Restored.—(a) In case of unjust possession, the identical object must be restored, if it has an individual value; otherwise it may be restored in its equivalent. (b) In case of contract, the identical object must be restored, if that is the agreement (e.g., in loan of a chattel, or deposit), otherwise it may be restored in its equivalent (e.g., in loan of money).

The “Amount” of Restitution in Certain Cases.—(a) When an Object Had Various Values During the Time of Its Possession in Bad Faith.—If the change was from an internal cause and was for the better (e.g., the calf stolen by a thief has become a cow), the return must be made in the improved state; if the change was from an internal cause, and was for the worse but would have happened in any case (e.g., the cow taken by the thief has become old), return must be made in the actual state; if the change was from an internal cause and for the worse, which would not have happened had the object remained with the owner (e.g., a cow taken by a thief has become lame on account of the thief’s carelessness), return must be made also for the deterioration. If the change was from an external cause (e.g., the wine taken by a thief has risen and declined in value several times), it seems that practically nothing more can be imposed by way of restitution than the value the object had when taken.

(b) When Unjust Damage has been Done.—If the damage was caused positively, the injured person must be indemnified entirely, if the damage was caused negatively, the injured party should be indemnified more or less according to the reasonable expectation he had of the gain of which he was deprived.

The “Manner” of Making Restitution.—The general rule is that it should be made in such a way that the injury will be repaired and the injured person indemnified for his loss. Generally speaking, there is freedom of choice as to various forms in the modes of restitution. Thus, it may be made publicly or secretly, directly or through an intermediary, positively (by payment) or negatively (by cancellation of a debt). It may even be made without the knowledge and intention of the parties. (a) Thus, the injured party may be compensated, even though he is unaware that he was cheated or that he is being paid back; (b) the offender may restore, even though he does not know he is doing so (e.g., if he pays while intoxicated), and probably even though he has no express intention of doing so (e.g., if he makes a present of $10, and then remembers that he owed damages to the amount of $10).

Second Restitution.—Natural law must be applied to certain cases in which restitution sent through an intermediary perishes on the way through no fault of the debtor. (a) If the debt is owed on account of possession in good faith, the debtor is not bound to a second restitution. (b) If the debt is owed on account of contract, the goods perish to the owner. Thus, if the contract was one of loan, the loss must be borne by the lender; if it was one of sale, by the seller. (e) If the debt is owed on account of delinquency, there is an obligation to a second restitution, unless the injured party assumed the risk of transmission. It is held as probable that the choice of the confessor as intermediary for restitution has the consent of the injured party, and hence that, if the restitution perishes on the way through chance or the fault of a third party, there is no duty of second restitution.

The “Time” When Restitution Must Be Made.—(a) Internal restitution, or the purpose of restoring, must be made at once, that is, as soon as one adverts to the necessity of this resolve. (b) External restitution, or the fulfillment of the resolution, must be made at the first suitable opportunity.

Unjust Refusal to Make Restitution or Pay Bills.—(a) Those who unjustly refuse to make restitution or to pay their bills at the proper time are guilty of mortal or venial sin according to the damage their refusal causes to the creditor. (b) They are not worthy of absolution if there is serious bad faith on their part, as when they have many times broken their promises, or when they refuse to pay even the part or installment which is within their power. (c) They are bound to additional damages for the losses caused by the unjustifiable delay.

The “Place” Where Restitution Must Be Made.—(a) He who is a debtor on account of injury must make restitution at the place where the thing would be were it not for the injury. (b) He who is a debtor on account of possession in good faith should notify the owner where the property is, but he is not obliged to bring it to the owner. (c) He who is a debtor on account of contract must abide by the agreement, or by the statutes that regulate the contract. Thus, in this country the place of delivery in sales is according to law the seller’s place of business or his residence.

Burden of Expense or Loss When Restitution Is Sent to the Place of the Creditor.—(a) If the obligation of restitution arises from injury, the debtor is generally bound to pay the transportation and to stand the loss when the goods perish in transit. (b) If the obligation arises from contract, the expenses and losses must be borne according to the agreement.

If nothing was stipulated, it seems equitable that the expenses of transportation be borne by the party who benefits or who requested the contract. According to the Sales Act in the United States, the seller is the loser when goods perish in transit, if a place of delivery had been agreed on; but the buyer is the loser when in pursuance of the contract the goods had been delivered to a carrier for transmission to the buyer (see 1888 d).