Case Digest (G.R. No. 204735)
Facts:
Spouses Cipriano Pamplona and Bibiana Intac v. Spouses Lilia I. Cueto and Vedasto Cueto, G.R. No. 204735, February 19, 2018, Supreme Court Third Division, Bersamin, J., writing for the Court.The respondents Sps. Lilia I. Cueto and Vedasto Cueto (plaintiffs below) filed an Amended Complaint dated November 20, 1998 (Civil Case No. 5120, RTC Batangas City) for specific performance, reconveyance, consignation and damages against petitioners Sps. Cipriano Pamplona and Bibiana Intac. The respondents alleged that on January 10, 1989 Lilia and Bibiana orally agreed that Lilia would buy on installment Lot No. 1419‑C (TCT No. RT‑1504) for US$25,000 at US$300 monthly; Lilia allegedly paid about US$14,000 and left possession to her son Roilan while she worked abroad; when the petitioners sought to evict Roilan the respondents annotated an adverse claim (June 15, 1998), tendered the remaining US$11,000 (17 June 1998, received 30 June 1998) and ultimately consigned the balance.
The petitioners denied sale, counterclaimed that the remittances were payments of a prior loan, and set up that earlier unlawful detainer proceedings resulted in Roilan’s eviction. An intervenor, Redima Baytown Development Corporation, sought to protect its claimed rights; the trial court initially admitted the intervention but that admission was later reversed by this Court (CA‑G.R. No. 86541 / G.R. No. 170315), leaving the intervention out of the case record for purposes of the trial below.
After pretrial and trial, the RTC (Branch 8, Batangas City) rendered judgment on June 21, 2011 dismissing the complaint for failure of plaintiffs to prove the partially executed contract to sell, and denying damages. On appeal, the Court of Appeals reversed in a decision promulgated December 3, 2012, finding there was a partially executed oral contract to sell, that partial performance removed the transaction from the Statute of Frauds, and ordering the Register of Deeds to cancel TCT No. RT‑1504 and issue a new title in favor of Lilia; the CA also ordered defendants to execute a deed of sale and released the judicially consigned amount (Php436,700.00) to the defendants.
The petitioners filed a Petition for Review on Certiorari under Rule 45 assailing the CA d...(Subscriber-Only)
Issues:
- Was there sufficient evidence to establish the existence of a partially executed contract to sell between Bibiana Intac and Lilia Cueto?
- Did the deed of transfer of rights from the respondents to Redima Baytown Development Corporation violate Article 1491 ...(Subscriber-Only)
Ruling:
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Ratio:
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Doctrine:
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