Seller Encumbrance Delay Does Not Automatically Excuse Buyer Non-Performance in Real Estate Contract

A dispute arose concerning a contract for the sale of real property where the buyer failed to execute the final deed before the agreed-upon deadline, claiming the delay was due to the property not being free from existing legal encumbrances that the seller was obligated to remove. The court of cassation overturned the lower court's ruling, holding that where a contract for the sale of property stipulates a specific time limit for the execution of the final deed, the seller's mere failure to clear existing encumbrances by that date does not automatically excuse the buyer's non-performance, as the buyer must still tender performance or formally place the seller in default unless the contract explicitly made the seller's removal of encumbrances a suspensive condition precedent to the buyer's obligation to sign.