Legal Definitions - obligationes innominati

The term obligationes innominati refers to innominate obligations. These are agreements or contracts that do not fit into the established, named categories of contracts (such as a sale, lease, or loan) but are still legally binding because one or both parties have already performed their part of the agreement.

In essence, an innominate obligation is an "unnamed" or "atypical" contract that becomes enforceable by law due to the performance of one or both parties. The law recognizes these obligations to ensure fairness and prevent unjust enrichment when an exchange has occurred, even if the initial agreement lacked the formal structure of a traditional contract type.

Here are some examples illustrating innominate obligations:

• Barter of Goods for Services: Imagine a situation where a local baker agrees to provide a carpenter with a year's supply of bread in exchange for the carpenter building a custom display case for the bakery. The baker delivers the first month's supply of bread, but the carpenter then refuses to start work on the display case.

  This is an innominate obligation because it's not a standard sale (money for goods) or a typical service contract (money for labor). It's an agreement where one party gives goods ("do ut des" - I give so that you give) in exchange for services. The baker's performance (delivering bread) makes the carpenter's obligation to build the display case legally enforceable, even though it wasn't a formally named contract type.

• Collaborative Project with Shared Returns: Consider a scenario where a musician agrees with a videographer that the musician will compose an original soundtrack for a short film, and the videographer will produce a music video for one of the musician's songs. They agree to share any profits generated from the film's distribution equally. The musician completes the soundtrack, but the videographer then declines to produce the music video.

  This exemplifies an innominate obligation (specifically a "facio ut facias" - I do so that you do). It doesn't fit a standard employment contract or a formal business partnership. However, because the musician performed their part of the agreement (composing the soundtrack), the videographer's obligation to produce the music video becomes legally enforceable, based on the principle of mutual performance.

• Exchange of Services for Future Benefit: A property owner agrees with an artist that if the artist paints a large mural on the side of their building, the property owner will allow the artist to use a vacant storefront on the property as a studio space rent-free for six months. The artist completes the mural, but the property owner then refuses to grant access to the storefront.

  This is an innominate obligation ("facio ut des" - I do so that you give). It's not a typical lease agreement or a contract for services where money is exchanged. The artist's performance of painting the mural creates a legally binding obligation for the property owner to provide the agreed-upon studio space, even though the initial agreement was an atypical exchange of services for a future benefit.