Title
Calimoso vs. Roullo
Case
G.R. No. 198594
Decision Date
Jan 25, 2016
Respondent sought a right-of-way through petitioners' lot for access to a public road. SC ruled against it, finding the route least prejudicial was not met, favoring alternative paths to avoid property damage.
lack of evidence
alternative options
access

Case Summary (G.R. No. 198594)

Factual Background

The respondent alleged ownership of Lot 1462-C-1 covered by TCT No. T-6788, located in Barangay Sambag, Jaro, Iloilo City, and claimed that his lot was surrounded by other estates and lacked adequate access to a public road. The respondent asserted that the shortest and most convenient access to the nearest public road, namely Fajardo Subdivision Road, required passage through petitioners' Lot 1454-B-25 covered by TCT No. T-61058. The petitioners opposed the establishment of the easement because the proposed right-of-way would allegedly cause substantial damage to two houses already standing on their property. The petitioners contended that alternatives existed, including use of an existing wooden bridge over Sipac Creek bounding the respondent’s lot, which, if made concrete, could provide ingress or egress to Fajardo Subdivision Road, and other routes through vacant lots. The petitioners also sought damages and attorney’s fees for what they characterized as a malicious and groundless suit, claiming P100,000.00 as moral damages, P30,000.00 as exemplary damages, P50,000.00 as attorney’s fees, P1,000.00 as appearance fee, and P15,000.00 as litigation expenses.

Trial Court Proceedings

The Regional Trial Court granted the respondent’s complaint for an easement of right-of-way in a decision dated September 29, 2003. The RTC ordered the establishment of an easement “measuring 14 meters in length and 3 meters in width (42 square meters, more or less)” over Lot 1454-B-25, specifically at the portion adjoining the bank of Sipac Creek. The RTC directed the respondent to pay the petitioners indemnity at the rate of “Php1,500.00 per square meter” for the portion of the lot subject to the easement. The petitioners appealed the RTC decision to the Court of Appeals.

Court of Appeals Proceedings

The Court of Appeals, in a decision dated December 15, 2010, affirmed the RTC in toto. The CA held that all requisites for a legal or compulsory easement of right-of-way existed: that the dominant estate was surrounded and lacked access to a public highway; that the respondent offered to compensate the petitioners; that the isolation was not due to the respondent’s acts; and that the proposed right-of-way was at the point least prejudicial to the servient estate and, insofar as consistent, the shortest route to the public road. The CA favored the route across the petitioners’ lot because it offered the shortest distance—approximately fourteen meters—to Fajardo Subdivision Road and, in the CA’s view, would affect only a nipa hut on the petitioners’ property. The petitioners’ motion for reconsideration was denied on the ground that the new arguments of severe damage to the houses were not raised or proven before the trial court, as reflected in the CA’s August 23, 2011 resolution.

Issues Presented

The petitioners raised three principal issues in the petition for review on certiorari: whether the respondent met all requisites for the establishment of a legal easement of right-of-way over Lot 1454-B-25; whether the establishment of the right-of-way on the petitioners’ lot was at the point least prejudicial to the servient estate; and whether a right-of-way could be established through other lots surrounding the respondent’s property rather than through the petitioners’ property.

Requisites for Establishing a Legal Easement of Right-of-Way

The Court reiterated the established requisites for a compulsory easement of right-of-way: first, that the dominant estate is surrounded by other immovables and has no adequate outlet to a public highway; second, that there is payment of proper indemnity; third, that the isolation is not due to the acts of the proprietor of the dominant estate; and fourth, that the right-of-way claimed is at the point least prejudicial to the servient estate and, insofar as consistent with this rule, where the distance from the dominant estate to a public highway may be the shortest. The Court observed that the immovable benefited by the easement is the dominant estate and the property burdened is the servient estate, citing Article 613, Civil Code and prior decisions such as Quintanilla v. Abangan, Cristobal v. CA, and Spouses Sta. Maria as articulating these criteria.

Supreme Court Ruling

The Supreme Court disagreed with the Court of Appeals’ finding that all requisites for a valid easement were present. The Court held that the dispositive question was whether the selected route satisfied the fourth requisite of being at the point least prejudicial to the servient estate. The Supreme Court applied Article 650, Civil Code, and the jurisprudential rule that when the shortest distance criterion and the least damage criterion conflict, the least prejudice to the servient estate must prevail. The Court concluded that the route through the petitioners’ lot, though shorter, would cause destruction of the wire fence and a house on the petitioners’ property, whereas an available alternative route traversing two vacant lots would avoid damage albeit at a greater distance. The Court therefore granted the petition, reversed and set aside the CA decision and resolution, and dismissed the complaint for easement of right-of-way without prejudice to another complaint that the respondent might file against the proper party or parties. Costs were assessed against the respondent.

Legal Basis and Reasoning

The Court relied on the plain language of Article 650, Civil Code, which requires that an easement of right-of-way be established at the point least prejudicial to the servient estate and, insofar as cons

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