Case Digest (G.R. No. 23770)
Facts:
Magin Riosa v. Pablo Rocha, G.R. No. 23770, February 18, 1926, the Supreme Court En Banc, Avanceaa, C.J., writing for the Court.Magin Riosa (plaintiff and appellant) is a grandson and alleged reservee; defendants and appellees are Pablo Rocha, Marcelina Casas, Maria Corral, and Consolacion R. de Calleja. Maria Corral was the widow of Mariano Riosa and mother of Jose Riosa; Mariano left a will dividing his property between his sons Santiago and Jose. Jose Riosa inherited eleven described parcels from Mariano by testamentary disposition; Jose later died and left a will naming his wife Marcelina Casas as sole heir.
On May 16, 1917 the will of Jose Riosa was filed for probate. On that same date, because Maria Corral (the mother) had been preterited as a legitimate heir, Maria Corral and Marcelina Casas entered into an extrajudicial partition assigning the eleven parcels to Maria Corral. The Court of First Instance initially denied probate of Jose’s will, but on appeal this Court reversed and allowed probate; during the testamentary proceedings the extrajudicial partition was submitted and subsequently approved by the court by order of November 12, 1920.
Prior to and after the court’s approval, conveyances occurred: on October 26, 1920 Maria Corral sold parcels Nos. 1–6, 10 and 11 to Marcelina Casas (recorded November 6, 1920); on November 3, 1920 Marcelina sold those parcels to Pablo Rocha (recorded November 6, 1920); and on September 24, 1921 Pablo Rocha returned parcels 1–6 to Maria Corral, claiming they had been erroneously included. Parcels 7–9 remained with Maria Corral in fee simple; parcels 10 and 11 passed, in succession, to Marcelina Casas and then to Pablo Rocha.
Magin Riosa sued to have the eleven parcels declared reservable property (reserva troncal), to be recognized as reservee (reservatario), to have the reservation noted in the registry of deeds, to have the sales to Marcelina and Pablo declared valid only insofar as they preserved the reservees’ rights, and to compel the defendants to give a P50,000 bond for conservation and maintenance of improvements. The Court of First Instance rendered a judgment (dispositive portion reproduced below in Ruling) holding the parcels reservable, ordering Maria Corral to acknowledge and record the reservation and to secure delivery of the parcels ...(Subscriber-Only)
Issues:
- When did the eleven parcels acquire the character of reservable property — at the time of the extrajudicial partition (May 16, 1917) or upon judicial approval/adjudication (November 12, 1920)?
- Can a subsequent purchaser (here, Pablo Rocha) be compelled to have the reservation noted on his title and be bound by the reserva troncal that attached to the parcels?
- Is the purchaser (or the reservor) required to furnish a mortgage or bond as security for the reservation (i.e., must Pablo Rocha give the P30,0...(Subscriber-Only)
Ruling:
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Ratio:
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Doctrine:
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