Things and Ownership – Accession in relation to movables

Things and Ownership – Accession in relation to movables

Art. 508. Things principal and accessory. Things are divided into principal and accessory. For purposes of accession as between movables, an accessory is a corporeal movable that serves the use, orna­ment, or complement of the principal thing.

Art. 509. Value or bulk as a basis to determine principal thing. In case of doubt as to which is a principal thing and which is an accessory, the most valuable, or the most bulky if value is nearly equal, shall be deemed to be principal.

Art. 510. Union of a principal and an accessory thing. When two corporeal movables are united to form a whole, d one of them is an accessory of the other, the whole belongs to the owner of the principal thing. The owner of the principal thing is bound to reimburse the owner of the accessory its value. The owner of the accessory may demand that it be separated and returned to him, although the separation may cause some injury to the principal thing, if the accessory is more valuable than the principal and has been used without his knowledge.