Serg'S Products v. Pci Leasing

Summary

This case involved a dispute over whether chocolate-making machinery in petitioners' factory should be treated as personal or real property. While the machinery became immobilized by destination under Article 415(5) of the Civil Code, the Supreme Court ruled that the parties' contractual stipulation treating it as personal property was binding through estoppel. The Court held that contracting parties who agree to characterize real property as personal property cannot later deny such characterization, making the machinery a proper subject of replevin. However, this contractual characterization only binds the contracting parties and does not affect third parties acting in good faith. The decision reinforced the principle that property classification disputes and contract validity issues should be resolved at trial rather than in preliminary replevin proceedings.