Case Digest (G.R. No. 186322)
Facts:
Enrico S. Eulogio and Natividad V. Eulogio v. Paterno C. Bell, Sr., et al., G.R. No. 186322, July 08, 2015, the Supreme Court First Division, Sereno, C.J., writing for the Court.
In 1995 the Bell siblings (Paterno William Bell, Jr., Florence Felicia Victoria Bell, Paterno Ferdinand Bell III, and Paterno Benerano Bell IV) and their parents Spouses Paterno C. Bell and Rogelia Calingasan‑Bell sued petitioners Enrico S. Eulogio and Natividad Eulogio in Civil Case No. 4581 (RTC, Batangas City, Branch 84) for annulment of documents, reconveyance, quieting of title and damages, seeking to annul a 1990 Deed of Sale over a 329‑sq.m. house and lot that had been transferred to the Eulogios.
On July 15, 1998 the RTC declared the Deed of Sale null and void for contravening Article 158 of the Family Code, characterized the transaction as an equitable mortgage, ordered cancellation of the Eulogios’ TCT and reconstitution of the prior title as a family home in the names of the Bells, but nonetheless found Spouses Bell liable to petitioners in the amount of P1,000,000 plus 12% interest and awarded attorney’s fees. Both sides appealed to the Court of Appeals (CA), which affirmed the RTC en toto; the Bells brought a petition to this Court but it was dismissed for lack of reversible error, and judgment became final.
A writ of execution issued on June 9, 2004 levied upon the reconstituted TCT No. 54208. On August 31, 2004 the RTC lifted the writ on the ground that the property was a family home. Petitioners moved for reconsideration, invoking Article 160 of the Family Code and arguing the property’s present/market value exceeded the P300,000 statutory limit and so could be sold in execution. The RTC set a hearing on October 13, 2004 and appointed a Board of Appraisers; respondents sought contempt proceedings and alleged forum‑shopping, which the RTC denied while directing commissioners to canvass prospective buyers.
Respondents filed a petition for certiorari and injunction in the CA (CA‑G.R. SP No. 87531) on November 23, 2004, and sought injunctive relief; the RTC on November 25, 2004 dispensed with the commissioners’ valuation report and ordered issuance of a writ of execution, prompting an urgent supplemental petition before the CA. The CA enjoined the execution sale scheduled for December 22, 2004, and on July 31, 2008 issued a decision granting certiorari — it rejected ...(Subscriber-Only)
Issues:
- Are petitioners guilty of forum‑shopping?
- Is a hearing to determine the present value of respondents’ family home for execution purposes barred by res judicata?
- May respondents’ family home be sold in execution under Article 160 of the Family Code ...(Subscriber-Only)
Ruling:
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Ratio:
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Doctrine:
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