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as a !ifebuoy by som eone used be can it that n otio Wllo was oppose d to tl1 e n . ). lt u fa is h y b ed k c e r shipw . . dec.1 s1on . . . . vvh s 1 ch dismissed the unJ·u . 1 al c J·udi of ber num st a en r1c _ . There are h . 1 1 was b 1ocl( ed by an obstacle of ' 0 act1 ive rnat alte . an fact• 34 1n· re whe n1 ent act10n . . . son_-1• 11-1 aw n1011�y to pa y for t he his ned loa ff nt1 1 pla the 5 n,3 . supplY a 1924 decisio 1 of a bu1Id111g on land w 1 ct10 ere the h or ed uir f req our lab b e hic and ·als 1 r te , . of ma o_f t.h e wor ks, . both the b�il?ing and t1on pl� com tl1e on Up er. latt the to longed the � 11-1n-la� 1ad Joined. e 1c h s0 th wh hip ers rtn pa a _ to ted ibu ntr co re we After a land as a? w se its er d ts e l1q t u1dated. The plaintif f up kr n ba e m co be _ p hi rs _ 11e rt pa e th le wlli 1011 against tl1e other creditors of the parti1e act ent richm 1 e1 1 a1 ted. institu then rshi � and alleged that he s11ould be given prefere11ce over t 1e1n as regards tl1e increas� in the value of the la 11d brought about by tl1e erection of tl1e buildi11g t11 ereon Tl1at he contended, was 111ade possible by the money l1e loaned his son-ir1-Ia w and the �ther creditors were therefore e11riched witl1out just cause at his expense. The clai1n was rejected beca11se the plain!iff h�d failecl to _secure for l1in1s_elf a right of pre ference over other creditors by co111ply1ng with the requ1ren1er1ts of Article 2103 (4)and(5). (3) The plai 11tiff could i 1 1stitute a11other ,1ctio11 b11t it is re11dered i 11effective by an obstacle of fa.ct wl1ich was not bro11gl1t abo11t by his fault. For all practical pur poses, 36 t}tis situation ca 11 arise 0 11ly where a co11tractt1al actio1 1 is rendered useless by the i11s0lvency of one of the contracting parties. Hence tl1 e e11 ricl1 n1e1 1t action is aimed at a third party, a11d the quest.io1 1 is whether or not it can be take11 against him. With very few exceptio 1 1s, practically aJl a11tl1 ors are of opinio11 that the en richment action can be brougl1t against tl1e third party. This sittiation can be distinguished from the preceding and subseq11ei1t situatio11s in tl1at it involves three perso11s instead of t,:vo a11d tl1 e q11estio11 of givi11 g the plaintiff a choice as to ,vhat action to exercise does 11ot arise because the normal action and. the u11just enrich ment actio11 are not directed to tl1e same person. Moreover it should be noted tl1at the matter of exercise of the action ca11 not come up if t11e tl1ird party \.Vas enriched with just cause. It is only where the plaintiff's performa11ce of his ob liga tions under the contract 11ave benefitted a third party without just c,1use that th_ e authors say that the enrichn1ent action can be take1 1. As poi11ted out by Pla�iol and Ripert,37 even if the third party's enrich111 ent is related to tl1e plai11tiff 's 101· poverishment, most often tl1e latter cot1ld not i11stit11te an actio1 1 de i11 rein verso against the former because the third party's enrich111e 11t l1as a j11st cause. ''But it _may that he (the enriched third party) l1ad no good cause. 1��en the unpaid creditor may certainly act £le in ren1 verso against tl1e tI11rd party. By granting it 110 contrave1 1tio1 1 like that 1nentioned above (fratid on the law) is perpetrated on the written law. (Here) no 011 e is looking for a roundabout mea.ns of attainit1g a goal whi.ch can 11ot be bad throug11 the norn1al course, as, in theory, the contractual actio11 is (still) opei1." Drakidi� too,38 W?uld grant the action because, he says, equity dem,1nds it and _ . the enrichment action 1n this instance does no jeopa rdize the legal order. t 34. 35. 36. 37. 38 •
ino! Bert t et oncier de France c. Arrazat, D. 1889 .1.393; Jacquin c. Lebel frere s ;��� ri ' · 1913 .1 · 433. Several more are to be found in otJ1er reporters. . Laurrens, syndic. de la faillite Soc. 29 .1. 1 19 24 Miguel et Tarayre c. Marty, D. P. Mar �y et R ynaud, op. cit., n o. 353(2), p. 321. � Plan1?l et R1pert, op. cit., no. 763(2), p. 72. . D,rak1d1s, op. cit., p. 586_
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