Property Owner v. Contractor: Breach of Contract vs. Fraudulent Misrepresentation in Sale Annulment

A property owner sued a contractor seeking annulment of a sale contract based on the contractor's failure to perform agreed-upon work and the alleged misrepresentation of the property's condition at the time of the agreement, which the owner claimed amounted to fraud invalidating consent. The court ultimately quashed the lower court's decision, reasoning that the mere breach of a contractual obligation, even if substantial, does not automatically constitute fraud as defined in the Civil Code, which requires deceptive maneuvers intended to mislead the contracting party's consent, and thus the lower court erred in equating non-performance with fraud sufficient to annul the sale contract.