Sale Annulment for Seller's Lack of Title Constituting Essential Error

A party entered into a contract to purchase property, but upon learning that the seller did not possess the necessary title and thus could not transfer ownership, the purchaser sought judicial annulment of the sale and reimbursement of the paid deposit on the grounds of an essential error regarding the very object of the sale. The court of cassation quashed the lower court's decision which had upheld the sale, reasoning that a contract for the sale of property is void where the seller lacks the absolute right to transfer ownership, as this constitutes an error in the substance of the object of the sale, justifying annulment and restitution of payments made.