Novation by Settlement Agreement Precludes Enforcement of Original Judgment for Property Transfer

A claimant, having obtained a judgment recognizing their right to a fiduciary transfer of property in exchange for the reimbursement of a debt, subsequently entered into an agreement with the debtor to settle the matter, in which the debtor agreed to pay a specific sum and the claimant agreed to cancel the original judgment and relinquish any claim to the property. The debtor failed to make the agreed payment, leading the claimant to attempt to enforce the original judgment concerning the property transfer; however, the Court of Cassation upheld the lower court's decision rejecting enforcement, reasoning that the subsequent settlement agreement constituted a novation of the original obligation, effectively replacing the prior claim with a new obligation to pay a sum of money, and thus extinguished the right to the property transfer recognized in the initial judgment.