Case Digest (G.R. No. L-26243)
Facts:
Clara Regalario v. Northwest Finance Corporation and Jose Qui, G.R. No. L-26243. September 30, 1982. The Supreme Court First Division. Teehankee, J., writing for the Court.Petitioner Clara Regalario filed an intervention in a replevin action instituted by respondent Northwest Finance Corporation against respondent Jose Qui in the Court of First Instance of Manila. Qui had obtained a P15,000 loan from Northwest secured by a chattel mortgage over a Ford van, payable within one year; when he failed to pay, Northwest sued for possession and foreclosure, obtained approval of a bond, and secured a writ of replevin by the sheriff.
In his answer Qui admitted execution of the promissory note and chattel mortgage but pleaded that the loan's maturity had been extended for six months. With leave of court, Regalario intervened claiming she was the true owner of the van, having purchased it on installment from Manila Trading Supply, Inc., with Qui acting as guarantor; she alleged Qui had no authority to mortgage the vehicle and that any registration in his name was procured by fraud. Northwest denied Regalario’s ownership claim, asserting she had sold the van to Qui; Qui likewise maintained that Regalario had sold him the vehicle.
The trial court (Court of First Instance of Manila) rendered judgment in favor of Northwest for the loan amount and costs but ordered return of possession of the truck to intervenor Regalario, awarded exemplary and moral damages to Regalario against Northwest and Qui, declared the registration in Qui’s name null and void, and provided alternative indemnity if the truck could not be returned. On motion of Regalario the trial court modified the judgment to add a P20,000 indemnity if delivery proved impossible.
Both respondents appealed to the Court of Appeals. In CA-G.R. No. 31845-R the Sixth Division modified the trial court’s judgment: it affirmed the monetary award against Qui for the P15,000 loan, but set aside the remainder of the dispositive portion and declared Qui the owner of the Ford van, subject to Northwest’s right to foreclose its chattel mortgage. Qui and Northwest relied in the Court of Appeals on transcripts of testimonies given during fiscal criminal investigations (in dismissed falsification complaints filed earlier by Regalario), which were not offered in the trial court record.
Regalario elevated the case by appeal by certiorari to this Court, assailing the Court of Appeals’ admission of the fiscal-investigation testimonies and its factual conclusion that Qui was the owner of the van. The Court of Appeals’ factual findings rested on a public deed of sale (Exhibit C, dated August 15, 1960) in which Regalario purportedly sol...(Subscriber-Only)
Issues:
- Was the Court of Appeals correct in admitting and considering testimonies taken in dismissed fiscal investigations that were not presented at trial?
- Was respondent Jose Qui the rightful owner of the Ford van at the time he mortgaged it to Northwest Finance Corporation (i.e., was the deed of sale to Qui valid and sup...(Subscriber-Only)
Ruling:
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Ratio:
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Doctrine:
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