reglab/statecodes huggingface dataset:
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY-ONE - Civil Code (§§ 1 — 5305) › Subtitle 4 - Obligations and Contracts (§§ 2991 — 5305) › PART XVIII - Prescription (§§ 5241 — 5305) › Chapter 407 - Prescription of Ownership and Other Property Rights (§§ 5261 — 5281) › § 5267 - Civil interruption—When judicial citation considered not made

The judicial citation shall be considered as not made and shall not cause interruption:
(1) If it should be void by reason of the absence of legal formalities.
(2) If the plaintiff should withdraw his complaint or should permit the proceedings to lapse.
(3) If the suit against the possessor should be dismissed.
History —Civil Code, 1930, § 1846.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY-ONE - Civil Code (§§ 1 — 5305) › Subtitle 4 - Obligations and Contracts (§§ 2991 — 5305) › PART XVIII - Prescription (§§ 5241 — 5305) › Chapter 407 - Prescription of Ownership and Other Property Rights (§§ 5261 — 5281) › § 5268 - Civil interruption—By judicial or notarial notice

Civil interruption shall also take place on judicial or notarial notice, provided that within two (2) months from the execution thereof a complaint as to the possession or ownership of the thing contested be presented to the court or judge.
History —Civil Code, 1930, § 1847.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY-ONE - Civil Code (§§ 1 — 5305) › Subtitle 4 - Obligations and Contracts (§§ 2991 — 5305) › PART XVIII - Prescription (§§ 5241 — 5305) › Chapter 407 - Prescription of Ownership and Other Property Rights (§§ 5261 — 5281) › § 5269 - Acknowledgment interrupts possession

Any express or implied acknowledgment which the possessor may make with regard to the right of the owner also interrupts possession.
History —Civil Code, 1930, § 1848.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY-ONE - Civil Code (§§ 1 — 5305) › Subtitle 4 - Obligations and Contracts (§§ 2991 — 5305) › PART XVIII - Prescription (§§ 5241 — 5305) › Chapter 407 - Prescription of Ownership and Other Property Rights (§§ 5261 — 5281) › § 5270 - Recorded title

Against the title recorded in the registry of property, the ordinary prescription of ownership or of property rights shall not obtain to the prejudice of a third person, except by virtue of another title similarly recorded, and the time shall begin to run from the date of the entry of the latter.
History —Civil Code, 1930, § 1849.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY-ONE - Civil Code (§§ 1 — 5305) › Subtitle 4 - Obligations and Contracts (§§ 2991 — 5305) › PART XVIII - Prescription (§§ 5241 — 5305) › Chapter 407 - Prescription of Ownership and Other Property Rights (§§ 5261 — 5281) › § 5271 - Good faith defined

Good faith of the possessor consists in his belief that the person from whom he received the thing was the owner of the same, and could convey his title.
History —Civil Code, 1930, § 1850.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY-ONE - Civil Code (§§ 1 — 5305) › Subtitle 4 - Obligations and Contracts (§§ 2991 — 5305) › PART XVIII - Prescription (§§ 5241 — 5305) › Chapter 407 - Prescription of Ownership and Other Property Rights (§§ 5261 — 5281) › § 5272 - Good faith defined—Other requirements

The conditions of good faith, required for possession in §§ 1424, 1425, and 1651 of this title, are equally necessary for the determination of said requisite in the prescription of ownership and of other property rights.
History —Civil Code, 1930, § 1851.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY-ONE - Civil Code (§§ 1 — 5305) › Subtitle 4 - Obligations and Contracts (§§ 2991 — 5305) › PART XVIII - Prescription (§§ 5241 — 5305) › Chapter 407 - Prescription of Ownership and Other Property Rights (§§ 5261 — 5281) › § 5273 - Proper title defined

By a proper title is understood that which legally suffices to transfer the ownership or property right, the prescription of which is in question.
History —Civil Code, 1930, § 1852.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY-ONE - Civil Code (§§ 1 — 5305) › Subtitle 4 - Obligations and Contracts (§§ 2991 — 5305) › PART XVIII - Prescription (§§ 5241 — 5305) › Chapter 407 - Prescription of Ownership and Other Property Rights (§§ 5261 — 5281) › § 5274 - True and valid title required

The title for prescription must be true and valid.
History —Civil Code, 1930, § 1853.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY-ONE - Civil Code (§§ 1 — 5305) › Subtitle 4 - Obligations and Contracts (§§ 2991 — 5305) › PART XVIII - Prescription (§§ 5241 — 5305) › Chapter 407 - Prescription of Ownership and Other Property Rights (§§ 5261 — 5281) › § 5275 - Proper title must be proven

A proper title must be proven; it never can be presumed.
History —Civil Code, 1930, § 1854.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY-ONE - Civil Code (§§ 1 — 5305) › Subtitle 4 - Obligations and Contracts (§§ 2991 — 5305) › PART XVIII - Prescription (§§ 5241 — 5305) › Chapter 407 - Prescription of Ownership and Other Property Rights (§§ 5261 — 5281) › § 5276 - Term of prescription for personal property; rights of owner

The ownership of personal property prescribes by uninterrupted possession in good faith for a period of three (3) years.
The ownership of personal property also prescribes by uninterrupted possession for six (6) years, without the necessity of any other condition.
The provisions of § 1479 of this title shall be observed with regard to the rights of the owner to recover the personal property lost or of which he may have been illegally deprived, and also with regard to those acquired at an auction, on exchanges, at fairs or markets, or from a merchant legally established or customarily engaged in the traffic of similar objects.
History —Civil Code, 1930, § 1855.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY-ONE - Civil Code (§§ 1 — 5305) › Subtitle 4 - Obligations and Contracts (§§ 2991 — 5305) › PART XVIII - Prescription (§§ 5241 — 5305) › Chapter 407 - Prescription of Ownership and Other Property Rights (§§ 5261 — 5281) › § 5277 - Personal property stolen or robbed

Personal property stolen or robbed cannot prescribe to the persons who stole or robbed the same, nor to their accomplices, or harborers, unless the crime or misdemeanor or their penalties and the action to demand the civil liability, arising from the crime or misdemeanor, have prescribed.
History —Civil Code, 1930, § 1856.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY-ONE - Civil Code (§§ 1 — 5305) › Subtitle 4 - Obligations and Contracts (§§ 2991 — 5305) › PART XVIII - Prescription (§§ 5241 — 5305) › Chapter 407 - Prescription of Ownership and Other Property Rights (§§ 5261 — 5281) › § 5278 - Term of prescription for real property and rights

Ownership and other property rights in real property shall prescribe by possession for ten (10) years as to the persons present, and for twenty (20) years with regard to those absent, with good faith and with a proper title.
History —Civil Code, 1930, § 1857.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY-ONE - Civil Code (§§ 1 — 5305) › Subtitle 4 - Obligations and Contracts (§§ 2991 — 5305) › PART XVIII - Prescription (§§ 5241 — 5305) › Chapter 407 - Prescription of Ownership and Other Property Rights (§§ 5261 — 5281) › § 5279 - Persons considered absent

For the purposes of prescription, a person who resides outside of Puerto Rico, either in the United States, in foreign countries or in any other point, shall be considered as absent.
If said person was present during part of the time and absent during another part, every two (2) years of absence shall be considered as one year to complete the ten (10) years of the time required to be present.
Absence which is not for a whole and continuous year shall not be considered in the computation.
History —Civil Code, 1930, § 1858.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY-ONE - Civil Code (§§ 1 — 5305) › Subtitle 4 - Obligations and Contracts (§§ 2991 — 5305) › PART XVIII - Prescription (§§ 5241 — 5305) › Chapter 407 - Prescription of Ownership and Other Property Rights (§§ 5261 — 5281) › § 5280 - Prescription by possession without title or good faith

Ownership and other property rights in real property shall also prescribe by uninterrupted possession of the same for thirty (30) years without the necessity of title nor good faith and without distinction between present and absent persons, with the exception mentioned in § 1653 of this title.
History —Civil Code, 1930, § 1859.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY-ONE - Civil Code (§§ 1 — 5305) › Subtitle 4 - Obligations and Contracts (§§ 2991 — 5305) › PART XVIII - Prescription (§§ 5241 — 5305) › Chapter 407 - Prescription of Ownership and Other Property Rights (§§ 5261 — 5281) › § 5281 - Computation of time

In the computation of the time necessary for prescription, the following rules shall be observed:
(1) The actual possessor may complete the time necessary for prescription by adding to his time that of his constituent.
(2) It is presumed that the actual possessor, who may have been a possessor at a former period, has continued to be such possessor during the time intervening, unless there is proof to the contrary.
(3) The day on which the time begins to run is considered as a whole day, but the last day must be wholly completed.
History —Civil Code, 1930, § 1860.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY-ONE - Civil Code (§§ 1 — 5305) › Subtitle 4 - Obligations and Contracts (§§ 2991 — 5305) › PART XVIII - Prescription (§§ 5241 — 5305) › Chapter 409 - Prescription of Actions (§§ 5291 — 5305) › § 5291 - Actions prescribed by lapse of time

Actions are prescribed by the mere lapse of time specified by law.
History —Civil Code, 1930, § 1861.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY-ONE - Civil Code (§§ 1 — 5305) › Subtitle 4 - Obligations and Contracts (§§ 2991 — 5305) › PART XVIII - Prescription (§§ 5241 — 5305) › Chapter 409 - Prescription of Actions (§§ 5291 — 5305) › § 5292 - Real actions as to personal property

Real actions with regard to personal property prescribe after the lapse of six (6) years from the loss of possession, unless the possessor may have during a shorter term acquired the ownership in accordance with § 5276 of this title, and with the exception of the cases of loss and public sale, and those of theft and robbery, in which cases the provisions of the third paragraph of said section shall be observed.
History —Civil Code, 1930, § 1862.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY-ONE - Civil Code (§§ 1 — 5305) › Subtitle 4 - Obligations and Contracts (§§ 2991 — 5305) › PART XVIII - Prescription (§§ 5241 — 5305) › Chapter 409 - Prescription of Actions (§§ 5291 — 5305) › § 5293 - Real actions as to real property

Real actions with regard to real property prescribe after thirty (30) years.
This provision is understood without prejudice to the prescriptions relating to the acquisition of ownership or of property rights by prescription.
History —Civil Code, 1930, § 1863.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY-ONE - Civil Code (§§ 1 — 5305) › Subtitle 4 - Obligations and Contracts (§§ 2991 — 5305) › PART XVIII - Prescription (§§ 5241 — 5305) › Chapter 409 - Prescription of Actions (§§ 5291 — 5305) › § 5294 - Mortgage action; personal actions for which term not fixed

A mortgage action prescribes after twenty (20) years, and those which are personal and for which no special term of prescription is fixed, after fifteen (15) years.
—Civil Code, 1930, § 1864.
History
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY-ONE - Civil Code (§§ 1 — 5305) › Subtitle 4 - Obligations and Contracts (§§ 2991 — 5305) › PART XVIII - Prescription (§§ 5241 — 5305) › Chapter 409 - Prescription of Actions (§§ 5291 — 5305) › § 5295 - Action to demand division of inheritance, division of common thing or survey of properties

Among coheirs, coowners, or proprietors of adjacent estates, the action to demand the division of the inheritance, of the thing held in common, or the survey of the adjacent properties does not prescribe.
History —Civil Code, 1930, § 1865.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY-ONE - Civil Code (§§ 1 — 5305) › Subtitle 4 - Obligations and Contracts (§§ 2991 — 5305) › PART XVIII - Prescription (§§ 5241 — 5305) › Chapter 409 - Prescription of Actions (§§ 5291 — 5305) › § 5296 - Actions which prescribe in five (5) years

Actions to demand the fulfilment of the following obligations prescribe in five (5) years:
(1) For the payment of income for support.
(2) For the payment of rents, whether derived from rural or from town property.
(3) That of any other payments which should have been made annually or in shorter periods.
History —Civil Code, 1930, § 1866.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY-ONE - Civil Code (§§ 1 — 5305) › Subtitle 4 - Obligations and Contracts (§§ 2991 — 5305) › PART XVIII - Prescription (§§ 5241 — 5305) › Chapter 409 - Prescription of Actions (§§ 5291 — 5305) › § 5297 - Actions which prescribe in three (3) years

Actions for the fulfilment of the following obligations shall prescribe in three (3) years:
(1) For the payment of judges, lawyers, registrars, notaries public, experts, agents, and clerks, for their charges and fees and the expenses and disbursements incurred by them in the discharge of their duties or offices in the matters to which the obligations refer.
(2) For payments to apothecaries for medicines which they have supplied; to professors and teachers for their salaries and stipends for the instruction they have given, or for the exercise of their profession, art, or trade.
(3) For the payment of mechanics, servants, and laborers the amounts due for their services, and for the supplies or disbursements they may have incurred with regard to the same.
(4) For the payment of board and lodging to innkeepers, and to traders for the value of goods sold to others who are not traders, or who, being such, are engaged in a different trade.
The time for the prescription of actions referred to in the three (3) preceding paragraphs shall be counted from the time the respective services have ceased to be rendered.
History —Civil Code, 1930, § 1867.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY-ONE - Civil Code (§§ 1 — 5305) › Subtitle 4 - Obligations and Contracts (§§ 2991 — 5305) › PART XVIII - Prescription (§§ 5241 — 5305) › Chapter 409 - Prescription of Actions (§§ 5291 — 5305) › § 5298 - Actions which prescribe in one year

The following prescribe in one (1) year:
(1) Actions to recover or retain possession.
(2) Actions to demand civil liability for grave insults or calumny, and for obligations arising from the fault or negligence mentioned in § 5141 of this title, from the time the aggrieved person had knowledge thereof.
—Civil Code, 1930, § 1868.
History
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY-ONE - Civil Code (§§ 1 — 5305) › Subtitle 4 - Obligations and Contracts (§§ 2991 — 5305) › PART XVIII - Prescription (§§ 5241 — 5305) › Chapter 409 - Prescription of Actions (§§ 5291 — 5305) › § 5299 - Date prescription begins—Actions not otherwise provided for

The time for the prescription of all kinds of actions, when there is no special provision to the contrary, shall be counted from the day on which they could have been instituted.
History —Civil Code, 1930, § 1869.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY-ONE - Civil Code (§§ 1 — 5305) › Subtitle 4 - Obligations and Contracts (§§ 2991 — 5305) › PART XVIII - Prescription (§§ 5241 — 5305) › Chapter 409 - Prescription of Actions (§§ 5291 — 5305) › § 5300 - Date prescription begins—Actions as to principal with interest or rent and annuities

The time for the prescription of actions, the object of which is to demand the fulfilment of obligations with regard to principal with interest or rent, runs from the last payment of rent or interest.
The same shall be understood with regard to the principal of the consignative or transferable annuity.
In emphyteutic and reservative annuities the time for the running of the prescription shall be counted from the last payment of the pension or income.
History —Civil Code, 1930, § 1870.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY-ONE - Civil Code (§§ 1 — 5305) › Subtitle 4 - Obligations and Contracts (§§ 2991 — 5305) › PART XVIII - Prescription (§§ 5241 — 5305) › Chapter 409 - Prescription of Actions (§§ 5291 — 5305) › § 5301 - Date prescription begins—Obligations declared in a judgment

The period for the prescription of actions to demand the fulfilment of obligations declared in a judgment shall begin from the day the judgment became final.
History —Civil Code, 1930, § 1871.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY-ONE - Civil Code (§§ 1 — 5305) › Subtitle 4 - Obligations and Contracts (§§ 2991 — 5305) › PART XVIII - Prescription (§§ 5241 — 5305) › Chapter 409 - Prescription of Actions (§§ 5291 — 5305) › § 5302 - Date prescription begins—Actions as to accounts

The term for the prescription of actions to demand the rendering of accounts runs from the day on which those who should have rendered them ceased in their charges.
That pertaining to the action for the balance of accounts, from the date on which the latter was acknowledged by agreement of the parties interested.
History —Civil Code, 1930, § 1872.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY-ONE - Civil Code (§§ 1 — 5305) › Subtitle 4 - Obligations and Contracts (§§ 2991 — 5305) › PART XVIII - Prescription (§§ 5241 — 5305) › Chapter 409 - Prescription of Actions (§§ 5291 — 5305) › § 5303 - Interruption of prescription

Prescription of actions is interrupted by their institution before the courts, by extrajudicial claim of the creditor, and by any act of acknowledgment of the debt by the debtor.
—Civil Code, 1930, § 1873.
History
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY-ONE - Civil Code (§§ 1 — 5305) › Subtitle 4 - Obligations and Contracts (§§ 2991 — 5305) › PART XVIII - Prescription (§§ 5241 — 5305) › Chapter 409 - Prescription of Actions (§§ 5291 — 5305) › § 5304 - Effect of interruption on other creditors or debtors, and heirs of debtor

Interruption of prescription of actions in joint obligations equally benefits or injures all the creditors or debtors.
This provision is likewise applicable with regard to the heirs of the debtor in all kinds of obligations.
In obligations in common, when the creditor does not claim from one of the debtors more than the part pertaining to him, prescription is not interrupted for that reason with regard to the other co-debtors.
—Civil Code, 1930, § 1874.
History
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY-ONE - Civil Code (§§ 1 — 5305) › Subtitle 4 - Obligations and Contracts (§§ 2991 — 5305) › PART XVIII - Prescription (§§ 5241 — 5305) › Chapter 409 - Prescription of Actions (§§ 5291 — 5305) › § 5305 - Effect of interruption on surety

Interruption of the prescription against the principal debtor by suit for debt shall also lie against his surety; but that arising from extrajudicial claims of the creditor or private acknowledgments of the debtor shall not prejudice said surety.
History —Civil Code, 1930, § 1875.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY-TWO - Code of Civil Procedure (§§ 1 — 3576) › Subtitle 2 - Procedure in Civil Actions Generally (§§ 251 — 1561) › PART I - Time of Commencing Civil Actions (§§ 251 — 264) › Chapter 41 - Generally (§§ 251 — 264) › § 253 - Absent persons

If when the cause of action accrues against a person, he is out of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the action may be commenced within the term herein limited after his return to said Commonwealth, and if, after the cause of action accrues, he departs from said Commonwealth, the time of his absence is not part of the time limited for the commencement of the action.
History —Code Civil Proc., 1933, § 39.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY-TWO - Code of Civil Procedure (§§ 1 — 3576) › Subtitle 2 - Procedure in Civil Actions Generally (§§ 251 — 1561) › PART I - Time of Commencing Civil Actions (§§ 251 — 264) › Chapter 41 - Generally (§§ 251 — 264) › § 254 - Persons under disability

If a person entitled to bring an action, other than the recovery of real property, be at the time the cause of action accrued, either:
(1) Within the age of majority; or
(2) insane; or
(3) imprisoned on a criminal charge, or in execution under the sentence of a criminal court for a term less than for life; or
(4) a married woman, and her husband be a necessary party with her in commencing such action,
the time of such disability is not a part of the time limited for the commencement of the action.
History —Code Civil Proc., 1933, § 40.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY-TWO - Code of Civil Procedure (§§ 1 — 3576) › Subtitle 2 - Procedure in Civil Actions Generally (§§ 251 — 1561) › PART I - Time of Commencing Civil Actions (§§ 251 — 264) › Chapter 41 - Generally (§§ 251 — 264) › § 255 - Death of parties before limitation expires

If a person entitled to bring an action dies before the expiration of the term limited for the commencement thereof, and the cause of action survives, an action may be commenced by his representatives, after the expiration of that time, and within one year [of] his death. If a person against whom an action may be brought dies before the expiration of the time limited for the commencement thereof, an action may be commenced against his representatives after the expiration of that time, and within one year after the issuing of letters testamentary or of administration.
History —Code Civil Proc., 1933, § 41.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY-TWO - Code of Civil Procedure (§§ 1 — 3576) › Subtitle 2 - Procedure in Civil Actions Generally (§§ 251 — 1561) › PART I - Time of Commencing Civil Actions (§§ 251 — 264) › Chapter 41 - Generally (§§ 251 — 264) › § 256 - Alien subjects or citizens of country at war

When a person is an alien subject, or a citizen of a country at war with the United States, the time of the continuance of the war is not a part of the period limited for the commencement of the action.
History —Code Civil Proc., 1933, § 42.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY-TWO - Code of Civil Procedure (§§ 1 — 3576) › Subtitle 2 - Procedure in Civil Actions Generally (§§ 251 — 1561) › PART I - Time of Commencing Civil Actions (§§ 251 — 264) › Chapter 41 - Generally (§§ 251 — 264) › § 258 - Commencement stayed by injunction or statutory prohibition

When the commencement of an action is stayed by injunction or statutory prohibition, the time of the continuance of the injunction or prohibition is not part of the time limited for the commencement of the action.
History —Code Civil Proc., 1933, § 44.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY-TWO - Code of Civil Procedure (§§ 1 — 3576) › Subtitle 2 - Procedure in Civil Actions Generally (§§ 251 — 1561) › PART I - Time of Commencing Civil Actions (§§ 251 — 264) › Chapter 41 - Generally (§§ 251 — 264) › § 259 - Time of existence of disability

No person can avail himself of a disability, unless it existed when his right of action accrued.
History —Code Civil Proc., 1933, § 45.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY-TWO - Code of Civil Procedure (§§ 1 — 3576) › Subtitle 2 - Procedure in Civil Actions Generally (§§ 251 — 1561) › PART I - Time of Commencing Civil Actions (§§ 251 — 264) › Chapter 41 - Generally (§§ 251 — 264) › § 260 - Two or more disabilities

When two (2) or more disabilities co-exist at the time the right of action accrues, the limitation does not attach until they are removed.
History —Code Civil Proc., 1933, § 46.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY-TWO - Code of Civil Procedure (§§ 1 — 3576) › Subtitle 2 - Procedure in Civil Actions Generally (§§ 251 — 1561) › PART I - Time of Commencing Civil Actions (§§ 251 — 264) › Chapter 41 - Generally (§§ 251 — 264) › § 261 - Actions against directors or stockholders of corporations

This part does not affect actions against directors or stockholders of a corporation, to recover a penalty or forfeiture imposed, or to enforce a liability created by law; but such action must be brought within three (3) years after the discovery by the aggrieved party of the facts upon which the penalty or forfeiture attached or the liability was created.
History —Code Civil Proc., 1933, § 47.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY-TWO - Code of Civil Procedure (§§ 1 — 3576) › Subtitle 2 - Procedure in Civil Actions Generally (§§ 251 — 1561) › PART I - Time of Commencing Civil Actions (§§ 251 — 264) › Chapter 41 - Generally (§§ 251 — 264) › § 262 - Acknowledgment or promise to be written and signed

No acknowledgment or promise is sufficient evidence of a new or continuing contract, by which to take the case out of the operation of this part unless the same is contained in some writing, signed by the party to be charged thereby.
History —Code Civil Proc., 1933, § 48.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY-TWO - Code of Civil Procedure (§§ 1 — 3576) › Subtitle 2 - Procedure in Civil Actions Generally (§§ 251 — 1561) › PART I - Time of Commencing Civil Actions (§§ 251 — 264) › Chapter 41 - Generally (§§ 251 — 264) › § 263 - Actions barred elsewhere

When a cause of action has arisen in a State or Territory of the United States, or in a foreign country, and by the laws thereof an action thereon cannot be maintained against a person by reason of the lapse of time, an action thereon shall not be maintained against him in Puerto Rico, except in favor of one who has been a citizen of said Commonwealth, and who has held the cause of action from the time it accrued.
History —Code Civil Proc., 1933, § 49.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY-TWO - Code of Civil Procedure (§§ 1 — 3576) › Subtitle 2 - Procedure in Civil Actions Generally (§§ 251 — 1561) › PART II - Parties (§§ 301 — 353) › Chapter 49 - Commonwealth of Puerto Rico as Party (§§ 351 — 353) › § 352 - Representation in condemnation proceedings

In every proceeding for condemnation of private property for public use, the representation of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico shall fall to the officer designated in the act authorizing such proceeding.
Whenever any act authorizes the condemnation of private property for public use or a proceeding of the nature of condemnation, without designating the officer who is to represent the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; and whenever any act designates or empowers the Governor to assume the representation of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico in the said proceedings, such representation shall be assumed either by the Governor himself, or by the Secretary of State with the previous approval of the Governor.
The provision of the foregoing paragraph shall not affect the power heretofore or hereafter conferred on any officer, in alternative with the Governor, to represent the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico in the proceedings to which this section refers.
History —Apr. 20, 1942, No. 39, p. 446, § 2; Apr. 30, 1956, No. 13, p. 36, §§ 1, 2.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY-TWO - Code of Civil Procedure (§§ 1 — 3576) › Subtitle 2 - Procedure in Civil Actions Generally (§§ 251 — 1561) › PART IV - Manner of Commencing Civil Actions (§§ 451 — 464) › Chapter 59 - Generally (§§ 451 — 464) › § 463 - Foreign corporations and companies and persons engaged in transportation of passengers—Substitute summons and consent to suit

Any foreign corporation, joint-stock company or trust company whose capital interest is represented by certificates of transferable stock or shares, or any private person engaged in the transportation of passengers in Puerto Rico, or between Puerto Rico and the United States, or between Puerto Rico and abroad, shall submit to the Secretary of State of Puerto Rico a statement informing the following:
(1) The name of said corporation, trust company, company or person.
(2) The location of the principal office or place of business thereof outside of the Commonwealth, and if same is to have a principal office or place of business in the Commonwealth, the premises thereof.
(3) The object or objects of the business thereof.
(4) The consent thereof to the receiving, by the Commissioner of Insurance of Puerto Rico, of summonses addressed to such corporation, trust company or person.
(5) The irrevocable consent thereof to being sued before the courts of Puerto Rico for any cause arising against the same in this Commonwealth or abroad, provided that the cause of action of the claim arises from a transaction made in Puerto Rico, or that the plaintiff was a resident of Puerto Rico when said cause for action arose, and that legal notice of the suit against same, as well as any other judicial proceedings, may be served on the person of the Commissioner of Insurance of Puerto Rico, and that the said legal notice, when served on the said office, as aforesaid, shall for all effects be considered as a notice to the corporation, company, trust company or person. Such summons shall be served on the Commissioner of Insurance of Puerto Rico, and a true and exact copy of the claim and of the summons shall also be sent by registered mail to the defendant at the last known address thereof. The post office receipt shall be made a part of the summons return.
History —May 14, 1951, No. 433, p. 1224, § 1.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY-TWO - Code of Civil Procedure (§§ 1 — 3576) › Subtitle 2 - Procedure in Civil Actions Generally (§§ 251 — 1561) › PART IV - Manner of Commencing Civil Actions (§§ 451 — 464) › Chapter 59 - Generally (§§ 451 — 464) › § 464 - Foreign corporations and companies and persons engaged in transportation of passengers—Person defined

The word “person” as used in § 463 of this title means a natural person, as well as private corporations, companies or associations, whether civil, mercantile or industrial, and also public corporations and associations with juridic personality recognized by law.
History —May 14, 1951, No. 433, p. 1224, § 2.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY-TWO - Code of Civil Procedure (§§ 1 — 3576) › Subtitle 2 - Procedure in Civil Actions Generally (§§ 251 — 1561) › PART VIII - Execution of Judgment (§§ 1121 — 1211) › Chapter 105 - Execution Generally (§§ 1121 — 1148) › § 1133 - Notice of sale-penalties for omission or destruction of notice

An officer selling without the notice prescribed by the last section forfeits five hundred (500) dollars to the aggrieved party, in addition to his actual damages; and a person wilfully taking down or defacing the notice posted, if done before the sale or the satisfaction of the judgment (if the judgment be satisfied before the sale), forfeits five hundred (500) dollars, which shall be collected by the Prosecuting Attorney and paid into the Commonwealth Treasury.
History —Code Civil Proc., 1933, § 252.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY-TWO - Code of Civil Procedure (§§ 1 — 3576) › Subtitle 2 - Procedure in Civil Actions Generally (§§ 251 — 1561) › PART X - Miscellaneous (§§ 1331 — 1531) › Chapter 133 - Fees and Costs (§§ 1461 — 1500) › § 1476 - Payment of fees in internal revenue stamps; cancellation

All amounts received in the office of the General Court of Justice of Puerto Rico as fees fixed by the Supreme Court for civil actions shall be paid by electronic means or through any method or instrument adopted by the court in coordination with the Secretary of the Treasury. The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court or the person onto whom he/she delegates such authority shall establish the appropriate controls for the collection of such fees, according to the selected payment method.
The Judicial Branch shall adopt a system whereby each party shall make a one-time payment on account of filing fees the first time it appears before the Court of First Instance, the Court of Appeals, or the Supreme Court.
History —Mar. 11, 1915, No. 17, p. 45, § 1; Aug. 12, 1998, No. 235, § 1; Nov. 9, 1998, No. 274, § 1; Sept. 29, 2004, No. 492, § 1; July 30, 2009, No. 47, § 4, eff. July 1, 2010.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY-TWO - Code of Civil Procedure (§§ 1 — 3576) › Subtitle 2 - Procedure in Civil Actions Generally (§§ 251 — 1561) › PART X - Miscellaneous (§§ 1331 — 1531) › Chapter 133 - Fees and Costs (§§ 1461 — 1500) › § 1479 - Other fees prohibited

Court officials may not collect fees in any civil action other than those fixed by the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico through resolution in accordance with the authority conferred thereto by virtue of §§ 1476-1482 of this title. However, if the payment of such fee is made by means of stamps, court officials may receive an amount in excess of the corresponding fee whenever the person carrying out said transaction makes a payment in excess, despite having been advised verbally or otherwise that he/she is making a payment in excess. Court officials may also receive and cancel fees in excess of those provided by the law when said fees are filed by mail, when such payment method is employed, or when the pleadings contain a payment in excess have been deposited in the filing drop boxes established by the Judicial Branch. Once the fees in excess are cancelled, it shall be presumed that whoever carried out the transaction consented thereto.
History —Mar. 11, 1915, No. 17, p. 45, § 4, renumbered as § 3 and amended on Aug. 12, 1998, No. 235, § 4; Sept. 29, 2004, No. 492, § 2; July 30, 2009, No. 47, § 6, eff. July 1, 2010.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY-TWO - Code of Civil Procedure (§§ 1 — 3576) › Subtitle 2 - Procedure in Civil Actions Generally (§§ 251 — 1561) › PART X - Miscellaneous (§§ 1331 — 1531) › Chapter 133 - Fees and Costs (§§ 1461 — 1500) › § 1480 - Penalties

Any court official who, in any civil action, deliberately collects or receives fees other than those fixed by the Supreme Court in accordance with the authority conferred thereto by law, except in the case of a payment in excess of the fees provided under § 1479 of this title, or who deliberately fails to comply with the duties imposed upon him/her by §§ 1476—1482 of this title, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
History —Mar. 11, 1915, No. 17, p. 45, § 5, renumbered as § 4 and amended on Aug. 12, 1998, No. 235, § 5; Sept. 29, 2004, No. 492, § 3; July 30, 2009, No. 47, § 7, eff. July 1, 2010.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY-TWO - Code of Civil Procedure (§§ 1 — 3576) › Subtitle 2 - Procedure in Civil Actions Generally (§§ 251 — 1561) › PART X - Miscellaneous (§§ 1331 — 1531) › Chapter 133 - Fees and Costs (§§ 1461 — 1500) › § 1481 - Documents not bearing stamps void

Each and every document or petition which requires the payment of a court filing fee shall be null and void, and shall not be admitted as evidence in trial unless such payment is duly evidenced, pursuant to the rules established by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court or the person onto whom he/she so delegates.
History —Mar. 11, 1915, No. 17, p. 45, § 6, renumbered as § 5 and amended on July 30, 2009, No. 47, § 8, eff. July 1, 2010.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY-TWO - Code of Civil Procedure (§§ 1 — 3576) › Subtitle 2 - Procedure in Civil Actions Generally (§§ 251 — 1561) › PART X - Miscellaneous (§§ 1331 — 1531) › Chapter 133 - Fees and Costs (§§ 1461 — 1500) › § 1482 - Persons unable to pay fees; documents exempt from fees

Any person residing in Puerto Rico who wishes to initiate a civil action or appeal but is unable to pay the fee fixed by the Supreme Court or the fees for the stay of proceedings required under §§ 1476–1482 of this title, may present to the Court Clerk an affidavit stating his/her inability to pay such fees, together with a copy of his/her proposed complaint. The Clerk shall submit both the affidavit and the complaint or appeal to the judge of the court, as the case may be, and should the judge deem that the complaint is sufficient in law and that the inability to pay the fee established herein is proven, he/she shall allow such complaint to be filed, the plaintiff shall thereafter be entitled to all the services of all court officials, and the benefits of all writs and processes as if all such fees had been paid. Furthermore, if any person against whom an action is brought is unable to pay the fees fixed by the Supreme Court or the fees for the stay of proceedings required under §§ 1476—1482 of this title, he/she may file said affidavit, together with a copy of his/her reply to the complaint or any other pleadings in said cause with the Court Clerk who shall immediately submit it to the judge of the court, and if in the opinion of said judge the defendant presents a meritorious plea, the defendant shall thereafter be entitled to the services of all court officials and the benefits of all writs and processes as if all such fees had been paid. However, the judge may require additional information as he/she may deem necessary whenever any party requests to be exempted from the payment of costs. Appellate or discretionary remedies filed with the Court of Appeals or the Supreme Court shall enjoy said exemption according to the procedure provided. Documents for the approval of acknowledgement of natural children, judicial authorizations for the benefit of minors or persons with disabilities, when application shows that the value of the property does not exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000), and applications for the declaration of heirs, when the petition shows that the value of the estate does not exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000), shall be exempted from the payment of fees.
History —Mar. 11, 1915, No. 17, p. 45, § 7; Apr. 27, 1942, No. 58, p. 568; Mar. 30, 1949, No. 7, p. 28; renumbered as § 6 and amended on Aug. 12, 1998, No. 235, § 6; July 30, 2009, No. 47, § 9, eff. July 1, 2010.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY-TWO - Code of Civil Procedure (§§ 1 — 3576) › Subtitle 2 - Procedure in Civil Actions Generally (§§ 251 — 1561) › PART X - Miscellaneous (§§ 1331 — 1531) › Chapter 133 - Fees and Costs (§§ 1461 — 1500) › § 1482a - Payment of fees

Any law establishing fees other than those fixed by the Supreme Court through resolution or the fees for the stay of proceedings provided in §§ 1476—1482 of this title, shall be deemed to be repealed and the fees established for payment to the court clerks and marshals shall be those fixed by the Supreme Court in accordance with the authority conferred thereto by law.
History —Aug. 12, 1998, No. 235, § 7; July 30, 2009, No. 47, § 10, eff. July 1, 2010.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY-TWO - Code of Civil Procedure (§§ 1 — 3576) › Subtitle 2 - Procedure in Civil Actions Generally (§§ 251 — 1561) › PART X - Miscellaneous (§§ 1331 — 1531) › Chapter 133 - Fees and Costs (§§ 1461 — 1500) › § 1482e - Creation of Special Fund

The Administrative Director of Courts shall keep a register of all internal revenue stamps cancelled for fees in civil actions while such form of payment is used. If other forms of payment for the services of the Judicial Branch are established, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court or the person to who he/she delegates shall adopt control mechanisms as necessary in coordination with the Secretary of the Treasury. The amounts collected for the services provided by the Judicial Branch shall be covered into a special fund in the Department of the Treasury, which shall be administered by the Administrative Director of Courts with the approval of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico. The Secretary of the Treasury may only withhold up to two percent (2%) of the total amount of the revenues on account of fees paid for civil actions to defray the administrative costs entailed by said activity. Twenty percent (20%) of the amount withheld shall be allocated to the Department of the Treasury, and the remaining eighty percent (80%) shall be deposited in the General Fund of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. The resources of this Special Fund shall be kept separate from any other fund under the custody of the Secretary of the Treasury and shall not be used for purposes other than those set forth in §§ 1476–1482 of this title. The Administrative Director of the Courts shall use the money covered into said fund to defray the cost of improving the working conditions and providing salary raises to the Judicial Branch employees, excluding judges, and to purchase equipment and other supplies as necessary, carry out improvements, and attend to all those other matters that inure to the benefit of the Judicial Branch. Provided, further, That said Administrative Director may take money on loan for such purposes under the terms that are most beneficial to the public interest, securing the payment of the obligations thus contracted with the resources of the Special Fund created by virtue of this section or any other available resources, provided that the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico so approves.
History —Aug. 12, 1998, No. 235, § 11, renumbered as § 8 and amended on Nov. 9, 1998, No. 274, § 3; July 30, 2009, No. 47, § 11, eff. July 1, 2010.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY-TWO - Code of Civil Procedure (§§ 1 — 3576) › Subtitle 2 - Procedure in Civil Actions Generally (§§ 251 — 1561) › PART X - Miscellaneous (§§ 1331 — 1531) › Chapter 133 - Fees and Costs (§§ 1461 — 1500) › § 1492 - Exemption from fees of loans by United States—Authentication of documents

Every public or private document executed for the purpose of contracting and securing mortgage loans, crop loans, or loans of any other nature, by the Government of the United States of America or any of its agencies or instrumentalities, as well as every other public or private document executed to evince the delivery of the amount of the loan, or the partial or full payment of such loan, as well as the total or partial cancellation of the corresponding securities; and every other public or private doucment which it may be necessary to execute in relation with such loans and the corresponding securities, shall be autheticated by any notary of Puerto Rico, or by any public officer, in the proper case, free from the fees prescribed by law.
History —June 22, 1954, No. 81, p. 412, § 1.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY-TWO - Code of Civil Procedure (§§ 1 — 3576) › Subtitle 2 - Procedure in Civil Actions Generally (§§ 251 — 1561) › PART X - Miscellaneous (§§ 1331 — 1531) › Chapter 133 - Fees and Costs (§§ 1461 — 1500) › § 1493 - Exemption from fees of loans by United States—Recording free from fees, taxes, or imposts; judicial proceedings

The deeds and other documents to which § 1492 of this title refers shall be recorded in the Registries of Puerto Rico free from the fees, taxes, or imposts of whatever nature prescribed by law for the operations effected in those Registries. Such judicial proceedings as it may be necessary or indispensble to prosecute by the Government of the United States or by its agencies or instrumentalities in relation with the proceedings set forth in § 1492 of this title, shall be exempt from payment of all tariff fees required by law.
History —June 22, 1954, No. 81, p. 412, § 2.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY-TWO - Code of Civil Procedure (§§ 1 — 3576) › Subtitle 2 - Procedure in Civil Actions Generally (§§ 251 — 1561) › PART X - Miscellaneous (§§ 1331 — 1531) › Chapter 133 - Fees and Costs (§§ 1461 — 1500) › § 1494 - Exemption from fees of loans by United States—Registries of property; certificates in government centers

The exemption provided for the purposes indicated in § 1492 of this title is made extensive to all tariff fees prescribed by law for the granting of titles and their recording in the Registries of Property, and to the issuance of all kinds of certificates, in all government centers of the Commonwealth or of the municipalities.
History —June 22, 1954, No. 81, p. 412, § 3.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY-TWO - Code of Civil Procedure (§§ 1 — 3576) › Subtitle 2 - Procedure in Civil Actions Generally (§§ 251 — 1561) › PART X - Miscellaneous (§§ 1331 — 1531) › Chapter 133 - Fees and Costs (§§ 1461 — 1500) › § 1495 - Exemption from fees of loans by United States—Certificates issued by registrars of property

Registrars of Property shall issue free from fees, taxes, or imposts of whatever nature, every certificate required by the Government of the United States of America or by its agencies or instrumentalities for the purposes set forth in § 1492 of this title.
History —June 22, 1954, No. 81, p. 412, § 4.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY-TWO - Code of Civil Procedure (§§ 1 — 3576) › Subtitle 2 - Procedure in Civil Actions Generally (§§ 251 — 1561) › PART X - Miscellaneous (§§ 1331 — 1531) › Chapter 133 - Fees and Costs (§§ 1461 — 1500) › § 1495a - Exemption from fees of loans by United States—Entities included

There shall be understood for the purposes of §§ 1492-1495a of this title that “United States of America or by any of its agencies or instrumentalities” includes The Federal Land Bank of Baltimore, The Federal Intermediate Credit Bank of Baltimore, The Baltimore Bank for Cooperatives, The Federal Land Bank Association of San Juan and The Puerto Rico Production Credit Association.
History —June 22, 1954, No. 81, p. 412, added as § 5 on June 2, 1967, No. 94, p. 310, § 1.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY-TWO - Code of Civil Procedure (§§ 1 — 3576) › Subtitle 2 - Procedure in Civil Actions Generally (§§ 251 — 1561) › PART X - Miscellaneous (§§ 1331 — 1531) › Chapter 133 - Fees and Costs (§§ 1461 — 1500) › § 1496 - Exemption from fees of Society for Legal Assistance—Judicial proceedings; certificates; execution and registration of documents

In all that is pertinent to the performance of its functions and the attainment of its aims, or necessary for the processing of the cases or matters in which it is interfering on behalf of the persons to whom it is rendering legal services gratuitously, the Society for Legal Assistance of Puerto Rico is hereby exempt from the payment of all types of fees, tariffs, taxes or imposts of whatever nature prescribed by existing laws for the transaction of judicial proceedings, including bar stamps, issuance of certificates in all centers of the Commonwealth Government, or for the execution and authentication of public and private documents and their registration in any public registry of Puerto Rico.
History —June 14, 1957, No. 51, p. 113, § 1; June 13, 1966, No. 27, p. 148, § 1.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY-TWO - Code of Civil Procedure (§§ 1 — 3576) › Subtitle 2 - Procedure in Civil Actions Generally (§§ 251 — 1561) › PART X - Miscellaneous (§§ 1331 — 1531) › Chapter 133 - Fees and Costs (§§ 1461 — 1500) › § 1497 - Exemption from fees of Society for Legal Assistance—Services of court officers; orders and decrees

Those persons for whom the Society for Legal Assistance shall prosecute judicial actions in court shall be entitled to the services of the court officers and employees and to all orders and decrees thereof, just as if the fees required by law had been paid.
History —June 14, 1957, No. 51, p. 113, § 2.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY-TWO - Code of Civil Procedure (§§ 1 — 3576) › Subtitle 2 - Procedure in Civil Actions Generally (§§ 251 — 1561) › PART X - Miscellaneous (§§ 1331 — 1531) › Chapter 133 - Fees and Costs (§§ 1461 — 1500) › § 1498 - Exemption from fees of Society for Legal Assistance—Legal value of documents

Every document issued for the Society for Legal Assistance under § 1496 of this title shall have the same legal value as if the fees, tariffs, taxes or imposts required by law had been paid thereon.
History —June 14, 1957, No. 51, p. 113, § 3.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY-TWO - Code of Civil Procedure (§§ 1 — 3576) › Subtitle 2 - Procedure in Civil Actions Generally (§§ 251 — 1561) › PART X - Miscellaneous (§§ 1331 — 1531) › Chapter 133 - Fees and Costs (§§ 1461 — 1500) › § 1499 - Exemption from fees of Society for Legal Assistance—Signing and sealing of papers and documents by society for legal assistance

Judicial papers, requests for certification of public documents, and requests for registration in public registries, processed under §§ 1496-1499 of this title, shall be signed by an attorney from the Society for Legal Assistance and shall bear the seal of the Society.
History —June 14, 1957, No. 51, p. 113, § 4.