Kuwait Court of Cassation principle number 258

Summary: - Acquisition by the possessor of a thing of the fruits he receives and the benefit he obtains from it. Its condition. That he be in good faith. Article 929 Civil Code. Establishment that the possessor is not the holder of the right he claims over the thing he possesses. Its implication. The right-holder may recover the thing from the possessor. Fruits received by the possessor while in good faith at the time of receipt. Their becoming his entitlement. The benefit he obtained falls under the rule governing fruits he received. It is impermissible to oblige him to return them or return them or their value to the person whose right has been established. This rule constitutes an exception to the general rule. - Acquisition of fruits by the possessor. Its condition. That his possession be lawful, complete in its material and mental elements, and free from defects in relation to the person against whom acquisition of the fruits is asserted, and that the possessor be in good faith at the time of receiving the fruits or obtaining the benefit. Good faith at the time of acquiring possession is insufficient. - The presumption is that the possessor is in good faith until the contrary is proved. When he is deemed to be in bad faith. Article 915 Civil Code. Rule: It is established in the jurisprudence of this Court that the provision in Article 929 of the Civil Code that “1- The possessor of a thing is entitled to the fruits he receives and the benefit he obtains from it so long as he is in good faith.......” indicates, as disclosed by the Explanatory Memorandum, that the possessor acquires the fruits he receives and the benefit he obtains while in good faith. If it is established that the possessor is not the holder of the right he claimed over the thing he possesses, the right-holder recovers the thing from the possessor, but the fruits received by the possessor while in good faith at the time of receipt are his entitlement. The benefit he obtained is treated as fruits received, and he is not obliged to return them or their value to the person whose right has been established. This rule constitutes an exception to the general rule that fruits belong to the owner or the person entitled to enjoy the thing. For the bewildered person to acquire the fruits, his possession must be lawful, complete in its material and mental elements, and free from defects in relation to the person against whom acquisition of the fruits is asserted. It is also required that the possessor be in good faith at the time of receiving the fruits or obtaining the benefit; good faith at the time of acquiring possession is insufficient. Although the presumption is that the possessor is in good faith until the contrary is proved, under Article 915 of the Civil Code the possessor becomes in bad faith: First: if his actual knowledge that his possession infringes another’s right is established, and he is in bad faith from the time of that knowledge. Second: if an action is brought against him indicating that the right he claims over the thing he possesses does not belong to him, he is deemed to be in bad faith from the time he is served with the statement of claim, even if he continues to believe that he is entitled. It is also established that, if the court of merits omits to respond to a material defence raised by a litigant such that, had it examined it, the view taken in the action might have changed, its judgment is defective for inadequate reasoning.