Legal Definitions - repetition

In civil law, repetition refers to a legal demand or action initiated by an individual or entity to recover something—typically money or property—that was transferred, paid, or delivered by mistake, without a valid legal reason, or under circumstances where it should rightfully be returned. It is essentially a claim for restitution for an undue payment or transfer.

Here are some examples to illustrate this concept:

• Mistaken Bank Transfer: Imagine a person intends to transfer $500 to a family member but accidentally types the wrong account number and sends the money to a complete stranger instead. The stranger has no legal right to keep these funds, as they were received due to an error and not as part of a legitimate transaction or debt.

  In this scenario, the person who made the error would initiate a repetition to demand the return of the $500 from the unintended recipient or through their bank, seeking restitution for the mistakenly transferred amount.

• Overpayment to a Service Provider: A company hires a marketing agency for a campaign with an agreed-upon fee of $10,000. Due to an administrative error in the company's accounting department, they accidentally process a payment of $12,000 to the agency.

  The company can pursue a repetition to recover the $2,000 overpayment from the marketing agency. The agency is only legally entitled to the $10,000 agreed upon in the contract, and the additional $2,000 was paid without a valid legal basis.

• Unjustified Receipt of Goods: A wholesaler mistakenly delivers a large shipment of high-value electronics to a retail store that did not place an order for them. The retail store, realizing the error, acknowledges they received goods they did not purchase and for which they have no invoice.

  The wholesaler would initiate a repetition to demand the return of the electronics from the retail store. The store has no legal entitlement to keep the goods, as they were delivered by mistake and not as part of a sales agreement.