2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY-TWO Appendix (§§ 1 — 39.4) › Appendix III - Rules of Civil Procedure for the General Court of Justice, 1979 (§§ 39.2 — 39.4) › Part VIII - PROCEEDINGS SUBSEQUENT TO JUDGMENT › Rule 51 - Execution › Rule 51.8 - Judicial sales

(a) Notice of sale. — Before the sale of the property on execution is held, notification thereof shall be published during two (2) weeks by posting visible written notification in three (3) public places of the municipality where the sale is to be held, such as the City Hall, the court and the collector’s office. Said notification shall be posted also at the collector’s office at the place where the defendant has his residence, if it is known. Such notification shall be published twice in a newspaper of general circulation in Puerto Rico and during two (2) consecutive weeks with an interval of seven days between both publications. It is understood that at least fourteen (14) days must elapse between the first publication in the newspaper or in the public places for the sale to be held. Additionally, in those cases where the defendant against whom the judgment is enforced has appeared in the lawsuit, the movant of the enforcement must notify such defendant by certified mail return receipt requested. In cases in which the defendant has not appeared, the notification shall be by certified mail return receipt requested to the last known address.
In all cases where it is alleged that the movant in a procedure for enforcement for judgment has not complied with some of the requirements in this rule, the court, at the party’s request, shall hold a hearing to resolve the issue raised.
The notification of sale shall adequately describe the property on sale, and shall also succinctly mention the judgment to be satisfied through said sale, indicating the place, day and time when the sale is to be held. If the property is perishable the court may, on motion of the party, reduce the term for posting the notification of sale to less than two (2) weeks. All judicial sales which do not comply with the notification of sale requirement shall be null, without prejudice to the liability of the party who made the sale without complying with said notification.
(b) Conduct of sale. — All sales of property under execution must be made at auction to the highest bidder, between nine o’clock in the morning and five o’clock in the afternoon. After sufficient property has been sold to satisfy the execution no more property shall be sold. Neither the officer holding the execution nor his deputy, nor any officer or employee of any part of the court, may buy or participate directly or indirectly in the purchase of said property. When the sale is of personal property, capable of manual delivery, it must be within view of those attending the sale and must be sold in such parcels as are likely to bring the highest price; and when the sale is of real property, consisting of several known lots or parcels, they must be sold separately; or, when a portion of such property is claimed by a third person, and he requires it to be sold separately, such portion must be thus sold. If the judgment debtor is present at the sale, he may direct the order for the sale of the personal or real property when such property consists of several known lots or parcels or articles which can be sold separately to advantage, and the marshal must follow such directions.
(c) Refusal of purchaser to pay. — If a purchaser refuses to pay the amount bid by him for property struck off to him at a sale under execution, the officer may resell the property at any time to the highest bidder, and if any loss is occasioned thereby, the affected party may claim such loss from the bidder refusing to pay before any court of competent jurisdiction. Likewise, the officer may, in his discretion, reject thereafter any subsequent bid of such person. The officer shall be only liable for the amount bid by the second or subsequent purchaser and the amount collected from the purchaser who has refused to pay.
(d) Delivery of property and certificate of sale. — After the sale, the officer in charge of conducting it shall draft a certificate accounting for the sales proceeding and the subsequent award to the highest bidder who shall pay the purchase price in cash or through a certified check to said officer. In extraordinary cases, the court may order any other kind of payment. In case of personal property, the officer shall deliver the property to the purchaser and, at his request, shall deliver to him a copy of the certificate of sale. Such certificate shall be deemed as the official evidence of the purchaser’s title to the property subrotating him in all the rights of the debtor in such property. When real property is sold, the officer in charge of the sale shall execute a public deed in favor of the purchaser before the notary public chosen by said purchaser and the latter shall pay for such deed.
History —Rules of Civil Procedure, 1979; Aug. 12, 2000, No. 172, § 1; Jan. 1, 2003, No. 22, § 1.