Buyer v. Seller: Dissolution of Preliminary Contract for Failure to Obtain Land Division Authorizations

A party contracted to purchase a property with a provision that the sale would be finalized only after the seller obtained necessary administrative authorizations for a planned division of the land, and after repeated delays and failure to secure these permits, the buyer sought judicial dissolution of the preliminary contract. The Court of Cassation quashed the lower court's decision that upheld the contract, reasoning that since the prerequisite authorizations were a condition precedent essential to the execution of the sale, the seller's failure to obtain them within a reasonable time, despite formal notice, entitled the buyer to seek judicial dissolution of the agreement, as the contract's object, as agreed upon, could not be realized.