G.R. No. 149750 June 16, 2003
Topics:
Perfection of the Contract of Sale
Doctrines:
The consummation of the contract and the consequent transfer of ownership would depend on whether he subsequently acquired ownership of the land in accordance with Article 1434 of the Civil Code.
Summary:
Aurora Alcantara-Daus, the petitioner, alleged that she acquired the property in question in good faith and for a fair price in December 1975. She also claimed that she has been in continuous, public, peaceful, open possession of the property and has been using its produce without anyone’s permission. The Urdaneta, Pangasinan RTC decided in favor of the petitioner in this case. Due to the fact that the land had been sold more than 18 years prior, it was decided that the respondents’ claim was time-barred due to laches. It further ruled that the Deed of Extrajudicial Partition in favor of Rodolfo de Leon was presumed to be valid because it was a notarial instrument.
Facts:
A plot of land with an approximate area of 4,212 square meters belongs to the De Leon spouses and is located in the Municipality of San Manuel, Pangasinan. According to a Deed of Extrajudicial Partition, respondent Hermoso De Leon received the aforementioned lot from his father Marcelino De Leon. The Pangasinan Land Records Original Certificate of Title No. 22134 covers the aforementioned parcel. The late Atty. Juan Florencio was hired by Spouses De Leon sometime in the 1960s to handle the paperwork related to their properties. The latter asked them to sign numerous documents. Immediately following Atty. The majority of the paperwork that surfaced, Juan, showed that Hermoso’s sisters and brothers had acquired their homes through sales or quit claims. When in reality, no such conveyances were ever intended by Juan and his sisters. Respondent further discovered that his signature on the Deed of Extrajudicial Partition with Quitclaim made in Rodolfo de Leon’s favor was a forgery. They learned that Rodolfo de Leon had sold Aurora Alcantara the property in issue. Spouses De Leon asked for the document to be nullified and re-conveyed, but defendants refused. Aurora Alcantara-Daus, the petitioner, alleged that she acquired the property in question in good faith and for a fair price in December 1975. She also claimed that she has been in continuous, public, peaceful, open possession of the property and has been using its produce without anyone’s permission. The Urdaneta, Pangasinan RTC decided in favor of the petitioner in this case. Due to the fact that the land had been sold more than 18 years prior, it was decided that the respondents’ claim was time-barred due to laches. It further ruled that the Deed of Extrajudicial Partition in favor of Rodolfo de Leon was presumed to be valid because it was a notarial instrument.
Issue:
Is the Deed of Absolute Sale Rodolfo De Leon signed in favor of the petitioner over the property in question was perfected and enforceable against the parties?
Ruling:
No. The law provides that the seller must have the authority to transfer ownership of the item sold at delivery. A finalized contract of sale generally cannot be contested on the grounds that the seller did not own the item being sold at the time the contract was perfected. Even after the parties have finalized the terms of the sale agreement, delivery is still a separate issue. The true right of ownership over the purchased item is acquired by the buyer through custom or delivery.