Professional Documents
Culture Documents
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18,
OFFICIAL GAZETTE
.5143.
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ANGELES, J.:
This a_stion for the r.ecavery of personal property was
commenced h1 the Municipal Court of Manila by the
plaintiff Sun Brothers & Company, a registered s-ene@!.
co.-partnersbip, duly organized and existing under and by
virtue of the laws of the Philippines, against the defendants Francisco Lopez, Jose Velasco and Co Kang Chiu.
After trial, the Court re~ered j u<!_glllent "_2rde.ring the .
plai!!tiff to degver':, the, saf!l~refri~ator .0 defend!nt Q.o ~
Kang,~Chtu g:r~to'-pa]fits val4,~ iri the. sum of 1"985 with
costs againk the plaintiff. The cross-claim filed against
Jose Velas~o as well as the counterclaim of Co Kang
Chiu are hereby dismissed for lack of merit." r
The plaintiff and the defendant Co Kang Chi appealed
/
the judgtiiient of the Municipal Court to the Court of
1
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5144
OFFICIAL GAZETTE
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As appears from said stipulation of facts, the plain.} .-- ,...__._,f-2"'k~ hff deliv~:r~d to defendant Francisco L..212.ez, on July 1,
,!) .$'c~ 11 7Tl~54, one ~~:~J,.re!rigerator, Model . 9D-7, ~omplete
i1l
with transformer, Serial No.,. 1508012, the same to be
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paid under the terms and conditions stipulated between
them in- a "Conditional Sale Agreemt:!nt'' (Annex A of
the complaint. Out of the amount . of Pl,700 which
fj (b
was the stipulated price of the. I'efr,igerator, ~
was paid b_Y Francisco /
Lopez. ~ e r paragr4phs 5 and 6 of the,sa,d Annex A,
tf
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it was s. ula:. ed that F~ancisco Lopez pall npb.rem~ve
q<t; '-:,
the refr1gera or from hrn address nor part poss.essrnn .
therewith ~it!;).pt ,,,the/express Y[r_ift~p___,_conse:riE of:::i@fu.~ and in the event of violation of the terms of said
agreement then the .J?laintiff may rescind the contract
of sale and recove-r possessi0il bf. the article_ object thereCk._C
of. It was stipulated further that in the event of violation of the terms of the contract PY, defendant, any
amo.unt previously : paid by him shall' be forfeited . as
.~at_aj_ - damag~fl ; a:nd . t . .. the merchandise ob .eS!.t
'{/cthe sale shall remain the a s ute ro ert of ai:nJiff
/
until defendant has aid -'n f
r
i
ft)'
On July 2,
1954,
without
the
knowledge
of
plaintiff,
.
--..,
defendant Francisco Lopez sold the refrigerator to the
J. ~ Trading, a business store at 94 Rosario St.,. Manila,
owned by defendant Jose Velasco, in the sum of P850,
by m~r-ep,rgl'lenting himself as Jose Lim and executing a
-(:locument that he is the absolute owner. The following
day, July 3, 1954,. without kr.iowledge of plaintiff, defendant Jose Velasco, after displaying the refrigerator at his
store,~ the article to Ci:> Rang Chiu, the ot_ller defendant herein, in the sum of P985 which was paid in cash
by Co Kang Chiu. The refrigerator was delivered to the
residence and business address . of. Co Kang Cl).i:u at 505
Sto. Cristo, Manila.
On August 2, 1954, plaintiff filed a complaint 'for.
1
Replevin it;L the Municipal Court of Manila against defendants Frari'cisco Lopez and Co Kang . Chiu, and asked for
a preliminar5,{J;vrit of Replevin ror the recovery of the
possession of 'tie refrigerator, which writ was issued by
the Court. Iniompliance with the Writ of S'eizu"'reissued
by the Court, .fl),e deputy sheriff, accompanie1f by a repres~tative of, th''. plaintiff, went to the residence of Co
' ,'"11;.~.,;1,.
Kang Chiu to serye th~ writ.
the request of Co Kang
Chiu and upon the~ntercession of his lawyer, and having
filed a counter-bond, the refrigerator was Iiot -taken out
(; i)
f'l
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far:-4~~
l ~ -~
i/
On
Aue
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oft
plai1
as c
cl ail
plai1
Ir
Vefa
Kan
way
as c
fron:
clai:n
Dt
ant I
of d~
rendi
folloi
''*
absolu
Chiu,
immed
Lopez
of 12?
the M
"On
burse <
which
"The
mages
Fro
and C
Jose ~
sense
refr~~
. ancf th
cliru-1
%lase;
. P9Ef5;.__
judgmE
------owner
laritCi
~nd as
be the
as agai
further
moral.
ever ex
The
main, u
Civil Cc
"ART,
are sold'
not sell
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OFFICIAL GAZETTE
;'5145
held.
,opez
Sun
[asco
ounlainyl,
)lete
> be
veen
l of
hich
only
!isco
c A,
1ove
sion
.a1nsaid
ract
ereolaany
as
ject
1tiff
of the residence of Co Kang Chiu. Later on, the complaint of plaintiff was amended to include. Jose Velasco .,,.
as one of the defendants. Co Kang Chiu filed a cross- ;,claim against Jose Velasco and a counterclaim against
plaintiff.
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505
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CK~
tiff,
the
1ila,
g a
'ing
mdhis
,nd.ash
the
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'for
,ndfor
the
by
ued
>reCo
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ing /
out
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OFFICIAL GAZ:t;TTE
5146
br
the buyer acquires. no better title to tlf. goods. than the seller had, . . .
unless the owner of the goods is
his conduct precluded fron\. ... ,;:-) :
denying the seller's authority to sell..
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"Nothing in this Title, how . r,
all
ect :
(l) The provisions of any factors'
s, recording law , or any
.
other provision of law . enabr g t
ppal'ent owrier of goods to
dispose of them as if he were
e t e owner thereof;
(2) The validity of any contrac of sale under .statutory power)..
of sale or under the order of a court of competent jurisdiction; J
(3) Purchases made in a merchant's store, or in fairs, or
markets, in accordance with .the Code of Commerce and special
laws."
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Auat
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Chi.u
.as 1n,
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t/ Co K
ing :
lt fol
applii
dec1ai
q . , altho1
~
r.i g ht
feet <
of SOJ
whicli
that
'/
11
into c
I latter
1'h
protec
~
chasei
I appea
<'
fa<
\I. stabili
in a c
for bl
the ti
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it iS I
than 1
Upo
ap'pelli
:refrig(
cause
anaTc
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Not
owner
j t:';:
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it nh
'pl~
Franc1
y_~tion
said:
"Yet
iding, a
sessing
\~
of this
suant tc
the pric
saction
Commer,
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AUGUS'l'
11; 1958
GF~.t\A~ GAZETTE
5147
~~~~~~~~~-'-' ~.~~~~~-
ller had
~t\~
, or any
goods to
y power}
iction;
'airs, or
l special
)mpany \
>r with
le with \
selling
ned by 1
J Kang f
>etween
> Kang
~- The
Article
of the
,rn the
'
f~<A'S .
:~elA::;
A~
alue at\~)~~.'i.
\,.
is true
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er had
,
1se the
.)
or, the
in the
::e, and
price.
I!
'rigera-~l
:lid .n.qt (1
; had-\
... .!t
ith th~~/
n good
r when
,....
Lopez, .
e busi1e rea-' i
Lopez !\
,s been
~ligent..
1e
sui<-=-
vendor,
1t puruestion
>) Kang
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"Yet the defendant invokes Article 464 of the Civil Code prov. iding, among other things, that 'one who has been unlawfully
!lcc.:.T:..:i.:..ve.::cd::....;o;.:f_D"""~-r~s.onal property may 1:ecover it from an~ person liQ.S- r])
sessing it.' We do not 'believe that the plaintiff has been unlaw- f'
~eprived of the cartons of Gloco Tonic within the scope ~
of this legal provi.sion. {!Lhas y6luntarily parted. with them pur-\
suant to a contract of purch~se and sale. The ,~1rcumstance that
the price was not subsequently paid did not render illegal a transaction which was valid and legal at the J:ieginning.'..'J (Asiatic
Commercial Corp. V8. Ang, et al., 40 Off. Gaz., Supp. No. 11, 102.)
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AUGUS1
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OFFICIAL,:G.N}ii~fE
5148
,,.,.
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fti;.
'-
1'-l
.s
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N:,n~regist~ted
_merchants
whose
stc;,res
are
advertised
II'
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or open to the public for eight consecutive days
(0:ode of Commerce, Arts. 85, 86)." (Jose B. L.
.
.
'E~\lr.e~, Outline on Philippine. Civil. Law, Book II,
p. ii7.)
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LAND RI
FEJ
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the
mu
sirr
fea
bel
fro
up,
ste
lan
Dii
Ra
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Ph
APPE..t
of
The
Pedr
Man1
ANGEL]
An a
session
with cl
against
Camari
in favc
At t:
before
lowing
missio11
"1. TJconsists
"2 .. Tl:
parcel o
died in
Nazaria,
surname
"6. TIcovered
name of
"The
evidence
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OFFICIAL GAZETTE
3792
.,,.
VOL. 53 No. 12
,,
[No. 13514-R.
TRINIDAD
c.
OCAMPO, J.:
In October, 1951, Trinidad C. Tagatac bought a car
for .$4,500 from Danielson and Kavarno Motors' of 'Sta.
Barbara, California, U.S.A. On May 27, 1952, she brought
the car to the Philippines. .Tagatac counted among her
friends one Joseph Lee and his wife, the latter being her
childhood friend. Sometime in June, 1952, Tagatac, accJ1').panied by her sister, Dolores Corpus, visited the Lee's in
the latter's house. Shortly thereafter Joseph Lee came to
see Trinidad C. Tagatac. With him was one Warner L.
Feist alias Warner L. Levy who was posing as a very
wealthy man. Joseph Lee introduced Feist to Trinidad C.
Tagatac. Possessed of a glib tongue, . Feist easily convinced Tagatac that he was a millionaire. He told her that
he was the manager of a cotporation named China Pacific
l;
"
1. OWNiERSHIP; MOVABLE PROPERTY; Loss OF MOVABLE PROPERTY; RECOVERY FROM PERSON IN POSSESSION OF SAME; CASE AT BAR.-AC
cording to Article 559 of the New Civil Code, although
possession of movable property acquired in good fafth is
equivalent to a title, one who has lost any movable or has
been unlawfully deprived thereof, may nevertheless recover it
from the person in possession of the same. However, in a
oa.se like the present, where there 'is no proof of illegal or
unlawful deprivation, there is no justification in applying the
provisions of Article 559 of the New Civil Code. The failure to pay the price of the car or the issuance of a check for
its price without funds to answer therefor by the original
vendee did not or could not affect the .validity of the transfer
of title of the subsequent vendee who acquired the car in
good faith; at the most it would give the vendor a right to
resolve the cont:ria.ct, but the title to the thing sold would not
revert to the seller until the sale has been set aside by a
competent court. Until this is done, the rights of stranger
in good faith, acquired before the resolution of the contract,
are entitled to protection. (Benjamin vs. Favis, CA-G. R.
No. 4964-R, January 12, 1951.)
2. CONTRACTS; VOIDABLE CONTRACT, E:FFECT.-A voidable contract is
susceptible of either ratification or annulment. If the cont:ria.ct is ratified, the action to annul it is extinguished C"A.rticle
1392, N. C. C.) and the contract is cleansed from . all . its
defects (Article 1396, N. c. C.); if the contract is annulled,
the contracting parties are restored to their respective situatic;ms before the contract and mutual restitution topows as a
consequence (Article 1398, N. C. C.).
3. EQUITY; INNOCENT PARTIES.-Behveen two innocent parties, the
one whose. acts made possible the injury must shoulder the
consequences thereof.
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OFFICIAL GAZETTE
Trading Co., Inc. ; that he was the owner .of two cars and
two houses in Baguio; and that he was the consignee of'
billions. of_ pesos of textiles then deposited in the custom. house. Seeing that Tagatac believed every word he said,
he offered to buy her car for P15,000. Tagatac was amenable to the idea. She agreed to sell the car to Feist at
the price quoted by him. On June 18, 1952 between 9 and
10 in the morning, the deed of sale was made. Tagatac
signed said private document of sale. Warner L. Feist
paid the price to Tagatac .by means of a check postdated
June 19, 1952 which check he delivered on the day of the
execution of the deed of sale, June 18, 1952. In turn,
Tagatac delivered the car to Feist on the same day, June 18,
. 1952..
The next day, June 19, 1952, Tagatac tried to cash th~
check with the PhilippiM National Bank. The bank Afused to honor the check and informed her that Watner
L. Feist has no account and no funds in said bank. Without losing any time, Tagatac notified all enforcement agencies such as the Police authorities of Manila, the National
Bureau of Investigation, the Philippine Constabulary and
the Military Intelligence Service, of the estafa committed
on her by Warner L, Feist. The law enforcement agencies
failed to apprehend. Warner L. Feist. The car itself disappeared completely. Meanwhile, Warner L. Feist managed
to have the private deed of sale notarized by Notary
Public Juan N. Sombrito. With the properly notarized
deed of sale, he succeeded in having the registration certificate of the car transferred in his name on June 28, 19~2,
exactly 11 days after the sale thereof. On August 18,
1952 Feist sold the car to .Felix Sanchez of Imus, Cavite.
Sanchez %had the registration certificate of the car trans.
ferred in his name on the same date. Sanchez offered to
sell the car to Liberato C. Jimenez. Jimenez investigated
in the lVIotor Vehicles Office the registration certificate of
Sanchez, After finding out that everything was inorder;
he bought the car from Sanchez for Pl0,000. On August
21, 1952, Jimenez delivered the car to the California Car
Exchange on Taft Avenue in order that it may be displayed
for sale. Ruben lVIasalonga offered to sell the car for
Jimenez so the latter transferred the car to Ruben Masalonga in order to facilitate the sale of the car. Masalonga in turn, unable to sell the car immediately, trans-
ferr'ed it to Eugenio Villanueva, in order that the latter
might sell it for Liberato C. Jimenez. On August 31,
1952 plaintiff discovered the car in the possession of the
California Car Exchange so she demanded from the manager
of said exchange for the delivery of the car to her but
the latter. refus.ed. On September 3, 1952 the certificate
of registration was retransferred to Liberato C. Jimenez.
On October 20, 1952, Tri,d C. Tagatac filed a suit
for the recovery of the possession of the car. The Sheriff.,
pursuant to a warrant of seizure obtained by plaintiff,
;,'!.-.
30, 1957
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3793
:\
' 3794
- OFFICIAL GAZETTE
VOL. 53 No. 12
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'OFFICIAL ..GAZETTE
Contrary to plaintiff-appellant's claim, defending:.appel:lee Liberato C. Jimenez did not commit perjury when he
swore under oath in Exhibit O that he owns the car and
.that it was registered in his name, because evetl- though
the car oh that date, September 1, 1952, was still registered
in the name of Eugenio Villanueva, defendant-appellee considered himself to be the owner of the car for :as we have
.said the transfer of the car to ,Masalonga and that to
Villanueva were made for the purpose of enabling these
persons to sell it. For all intents and purposes, defendant. appellee had every reason to assert that he was the <Jwner
of the car on September 1, 1952.
Plaintiff-appellant alleges thaf the . lower . court totally
ignored the judgment convicting.Warner L. Feist of estafa
and that the lower court erred in not declaring that
restitution of the property swindled must inevitably follow.
: The record reveals that the co.:urt a;. quo took notice-.of
the judgment of conviction in its order of Julyi15, 1954
.denying plaintiff-appellant's motion for reconsideration of
the decision now under consideration. In said order, it
expressly declared "this court knows that in one criminal
case Feist was convicted of estafa ori the rubber check lie
.is:s:ued against. the Philippine 'Bank of .Commerce without
any fund in 'the said bank so that he was accused of
estafa because of that check and not because-of the delivery
:of the car."
Plaintiff~appellant Trinidad C. .Tagatac rel:fos chiefly
on Articles iOO, 104 and 105 6f the Revised PenaLCode and
Article 559 of the New Civil Code.. True it is that every
,person criminally liable is also civilly liable (Article 100,
Re"\i:ised Pena1 Code) and Ms civil liability includes res:..
:3795
OFFICIAL GAZETTE
3796
Vo~. 53 No. 12
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OFFICIAL GAZETTE
3797
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379.8:
O;F:(l'ICIAL GAZETTE
. .
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of a stranger in good faith, ia.cquired befor.e the resolutiqi:l of the
contract, are. entitiea' to .protection."
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