Art. 2374.Property Subject to Superior Mortgage; Payment of Price

This article works together with Article 2372's rule that property sold at a judicial sale remains subject to superior encumbrances. Because the superior security interest, mortgage, lien, or privilege stays attached to the property rather than being paid off through the sheriff, the purchaser does not hand the sheriff cash for that portion of the price. Only the excess above the superior amount is paid to the sheriff for distribution under Article 2373.

In practical terms, the purchaser is treated as taking the property with the superior encumbrance already built into what was bid. The purchaser does not pay twice for that value, once through the price and again by having to satisfy the superior obligation separately, because the sheriff never collects the superior portion in the first place.

What the purchaser still owes on that superior encumbrance does not evaporate on its own. Article 2378 addresses what happens if the purchaser never pays it: the superior creditor can enforce the mortgage or privilege directly, including through executory process, since the purchaser now holds the property subject to that claim.