G.R. No. 16544 - Osorio vs. Osorio

Leonardo Osorio (plaintiff and appellee) sought to recover 610 shares of stock in Ynchausti Steamship Co. and the dividends corresponding to them.
These shares were included in the inventory of the estate of the deceased Da. Maria Petrona Reyes, whose estate was administered by Tomasa Osorio (defendant and administratrix).
The Ynchausti Steamship Co. was the multiparty corporation engaged in shipping business involving steamers.

D. Antonio Osorio, deceased, owned one-third of the capital of Ynchausti & Co., amounting to P166,666.66 out of the total P500,000.
Upon his death, his heirs authorized the administratrix, Da. Tomasa Osorio, to present a project of partition.
In this partition project, Da. Petrona Reyes (widow of D. Antonio Osorio) was awarded P94,000 as her part in the "share of the estate in the shipping business of Ynchausti & Co.," a sum somewhat less than the one-third share held by her deceased husband.
The partition was approved by the Court of First Instance of Cavite on May 10, 1915, with full consent of all heirs.

On February 28, 1914, Da. Petrona Reyes executed a donation in favor of her son Leonardo Osorio, giving him one-half of her share in the one-third part belonging to her late husband in the shipping business of Ynchausti & Co.
This donation was accepted by Leonardo Osorio.
Since the estate was not distributed yet at that time, Da. Petrona Reyes executed a ratifying document on July 3, 1915, to correct errors in the original donation document, confirming the donation of all interest she was adjudicated in the shipping business after the partition was approved.

After D. Antonio Osorio's death but prior to estate distribution, Ynchausti & Co. purchased the steamer Governor Forbes.
The heirs of Osorio were recognized as having a one-third interest in the ownership and business of the Governor Forbes.
The share of Da. Petrona Reyes in the Governor Forbes at the time of the incorporation of Ynchausti Steamship Co. was agreed at P61,000, equivalent to 610 shares of stock of the corporation.
This amount was deposited with the Steamship Co. pending resolution of ownership disputes.

The trial court ruled that the 610 shares and their dividends belong to Leonardo Osorio.
Ordered the administratrix to exclude these shares from the estate inventory and accounts and directed Ynchausti Steamship Co. to register the shares in Leonardo Osorio’s name and deliver the dividends.
Denied the defendant’s counterclaim for P45,000, ruling that it represented dividends on the P94,000 share that had been donated to Leonardo Osorio.
Defendants appealed, arguing:

Whether the donation made by Da. Petrona Reyes to Leonardo Osorio was valid and effective given that it purported to convey a share of the inheritance which had not yet been partitioned at the time of donation (i.e., whether the donation involved future property).

Whether the 610 shares of the Ynchausti Steamship Co., corresponding to the share in the steamer Governor Forbes, were included in the donation made by Da. Petrona Reyes to Leonardo Osorio.