Case Digest (G.R. No. L-2147-48)
Facts:
This is Ignacio M. Coingco v. Roberta Flores, G.R. Nos. L-2147-48, December 09, 1948, Supreme Court En Banc, Feria, J., writing for the Court. Petitioner Ignacio M. Coingco appealed from the decision of the Court of Appeals in consolidated cases Nos. 936-R and 279-R; the Supreme Court dismissed the appeal by a minute resolution on the ground that the questions involved were questions of fact. Petitioner moved for reconsideration, arguing that the appeal raised substantial questions of law.The dispute concerned ownership of certain lots acquired during coverture that had been listed as conjugal in an extrajudicial partition agreement executed before the dissolution of the marriage. The petitioner challenged (1) the validity of that extrajudicial partition and whether statements therein could be treated as admissions, (2) whether the presumption that property acquired during marriage is conjugal under Article 1407 of the Civil Code could be rebutted by a combination of facts — title in the wife’s name, the husband’s marital consent to mortgages, and the wife’s financial capacity — and (3) whether paraphernal land on which buildings were constructed during coverture becomes conjugal ipso facto even if those buildings were later destroyed before liquidation of the conjugal partnership.
The Court of Appeals had found that the extrajudicial partition was not voluntarily made by the wife and was never enforced; it also concluded that the combined facts and other circumstances shown by the evidence were sufficient to rebut the presumption of conjugal ownership. The Supreme Court, in a minute resolution, dismissed the petition as raising questions of fact; the present motion for reconsideration sought review of that dismissal. The Court denied the motion for reconsideration and thus left undistu...(Pro-only)
Issues:
- Did the petition raise substantial questions of law warranting review by the Supreme Court, or were the issues primarily questions of fact properly left to the Court of Appeals?
- Was the extrajudicial partition agreement, and any statement therein regarding ownership, valid and admissible as an admission when the Court of Appeals found the wife’s execution was not voluntary and the partition was not enforced?
- Could the presumption under Article 1407 that properties acquired during coverture are conjugal be rebutted by the combination of (a) title in the wife’s name, (b) the husband’s marital consent to mortgages, and (c) the wife’s financial ability, together with other attendant circumstances?
- Do paraphernal lots on which buildings are constructed during coverture become conjugal property from the moment of constructio...(Pro-only)
Ruling:
- (Pro-only)
Ratio:
- (Pro-only)
Doctrine:
- (Pro-only)