Supreme italian Court Corte di Cassazione Judgment N. 4825/16: alea is an essential component of the annuity contract.

The Supreme Court, with Judg. n. 4825/2016, confirms what is determined by the italian Civil Code (art. 1872): in absence of alea, the annuity contract is null.

In the recent case, with an annuity contract, it was agreed the sale of some agricultural land, with the recipients' undertaking to pay a rent for the entire duration of the assignor's  life, a 76 years old man.

The court declared the nullity of the contract, considering the assignor's age and his serious health conditions; the Court of Appeal, however, declared that the agreement fully complies with the law.

But, analyzing art. 1872 of the italian Civil Code, it is clear that alea constitutes an essential element of the annuity contract, and its absence renders the contract completely void, as confirmed by judg. n. 4825/16:

the Supreme Court upheld the appeal by declaring that "the lack of randomness can be found all times (...) the beneficiary of the annuity is to be considered close to death because of his sickness or his old age: in such cases, the contract is void."