—its market value, reckoned on the day when replacement became impossible.1 As for a non-fungible item, he is liable for its value as assessed on the day it perished.

If grape juice ferments into wine, he must provide its equivalent; but if it later turns into vinegar, he may deliver the vinegar together with the shortfall in its value compared with its worth as juice.2

Section

All juridical acts carried out by the usurper are void. When the item has been destroyed, the usurper’s word is accepted regarding its value, quantity, or description; but as to whether he has returned it and whether it is free of defect, the owner’s word prevails.3 Should the owner be unknown, the usurper must give it away in charity on his behalf while remaining liable for it.

Whoever destroys protected property, or opens a cage so that a bird escapes, or opens a door, or loosens a stopper, knot, or shackle so that what was inside gets out, or otherwise causes damage, is liable. Likewise, if he ties an animal in a narrow road and someone trips over it, he is liable,4 just as the owner of a vicious dog is liable for harm it causes to a person who enters his house with permission—“or if it mauls him outside the house.”

Whatever an animal destroys of crops at night is the responsibility of its owner, and the reverse holds in the daytime—“unless he turns it loose near what it usually destroys.”5 If the animal is under the control of a rider, one who leads it, or one who drives it from behind, that person is liable for the harm it causes with its fore-part but not for that caused with its hind-part—“and for the rest of its injuries…”