Title
Standard Oil Co. of New York vs. Jaramillo
Case
G.R. No. 20329
Decision Date
Mar 16, 1923
A petitioner sought mandamus to compel the Register of Deeds to register a chattel mortgage involving leasehold rights and a building. The Court ruled the Register’s duty is ministerial, lacking authority to determine property classification, and ordered registration.

Case Digest (G.R. No. 20329)
Expanded Legal Reasoning Model

Facts:

  • Parties and Instrument
    • Petitioner: The Standard Oil Company of New York; Respondent: Joaquin Jaramillo, Register of Deeds of the City of Manila.
    • On November 27, 1922, Gervasia de la Rosa, Vda. de Vera (lessee and owner of a house on a leased lot in Manila) executed a document in the form of a chattel mortgage conveying by way of mortgage:
      • Her leasehold interest in the lot.
      • The building situated thereon.
  • Registration Proceeding
    • The instrument was duly acknowledged, delivered, and presented with the proper fee to the Register of Deeds for entry in the chattel mortgage registry.
    • The Register refused to record it, opining that the interests mortgaged were not “personal property” under the Chattel Mortgage Law.
  • Procedural Posture
    • The Standard Oil Company filed an original petition for a peremptory mandamus in the Supreme Court to compel recording.
    • The Register interposed a demurrer, challenging the petition’s sufficiency and asserting his discretion to refuse registration.

Issues:

  • Does the Register of Deeds have authority to determine, before recording, whether the property described in a purported chattel mortgage is “personal property” under the Chattel Mortgage Law?
  • Are the leasehold interest and the building described in the instrument personal property qualifying for registration as a chattel mortgage?

Ruling:

  • (Subscriber-Only)

Ratio:

  • (Subscriber-Only)

Doctrine:

  • (Subscriber-Only)

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