heirs of pacres v. heirs of YGOÑA [2010]

HEIRS OF MARIO PACRES, namely: VALENTINA Vda. DE PACRES, JOSERINO, ELENA, LEOVIGILDO, LELISA, and LOURDES all surnamed PACRES, and VEÑARANDA Vda. DE ABABA, Petitioners,

vs. HEIRS of CECILIA Peaches, namely BAUDILLO YGOÑA YAP, MARIA YAP DETUYA, JOSEFINA YAP, EGYPTIANA YAP BANZON, and VICENTE YAP and HILARIO RAMIREZ, Respondents.

doctrine

While contracts are generally obligatory in whatever form they may have been entered into, it remains imperative for a party that seeks the performance thereof to prove the existence and the terms of the contract by a preponderance of evidence. Bare assertions are not the quantum of proof contemplated by law.

facts

·          Lot No. 9 (1,007 sq m) originally belonged to Pastor Pacres who left it intestate to his heirs Margarita, Simplicia, Rodrigo, Francisco, Mario (petitioners’ predecessor-in-interest) and Veñaranda (petitioner).

·          Petitioners admitted that at the time of Pastor’s death in 1962, his heirs were already occupying definite portions of Lot No. 9.

·          The front portion along the provincial highway was occupied by the co-owned Pacres ancestral home, and beside it stood Rodrigo’s hut (also fronting the provincial highway). Mario’s house stood at the back of the ancestral house. 

·          1968 - The heirs leased "the ground floor of the [ancestral home] together with a lot area of 300 sq ms including the area occupied by the house" to Hilario Ramirez.

·          1974 - four of the Pacres siblings (Rodrigo, Francisco, Simplicia and Margarita) sold their shares in the ancestral home and the lot on which it stood to Ramirez.  

·          Ramirez’s possession became a co-owner with Mario and Veñaranda, who did not sell their shares in the house and lot.

·          Rodrigo, Francisco, and Simplicia and Margarita sold their remaining shares in Lot No. 9 to Ygoña.

·          1984, Ygoña filed a PETITION TO SURVEY AND SEGREGATE THE PORTIONS she bought from Lot No. 9.

o    Mario objected on the ground that he wanted to exercise his right as co-owner to redeem his siblings’ shares.

o    Rodrigo also opposed on the ground that he wanted to annul the sale for failure of consideration.

o    Margarita and the widow of Francisco both manifested their assent to Ygoña’s petition.

o    The court issued a writ of possession respecting Margarita’s and Francisco’s shares in favor of Ygoña.

o    Ygoña built her house on a portion of Lot No. 9.

o    Considering, however, the objections of the 2 other Pacres siblings, the TC subsequently dismissed the petition so that the 2 issues could be threshed out in the proper proceeding.  

·          The COMPLAINT FOR LEGAL REDEMPTION filed by Mario and Veñaranda, was dismissed on the ground of improper exercise of the right. The decision was affirmed by the CA and attained finality in the SC.

o    The CA held that the complaint was filed beyond the 30-day period (NCC 1623) and failed to comply with the requirement of consignation. Ygoña built her house on Lot No. 9 in good faith and it would be unjust to require her to remove her house thereon.

·          DPWH, EXPROPRIATED THE FRONT PORTION of Lot No. 9. Ygoña moved to withdraw her corresponding share in the expropriation payment which remains unresolved.

·          1993, the Pacres siblings (Margarita and Francisco were already deceased at that time and were only represented by their heirs) executed a Confirmation of Oral Partition/Settlement of Estate of Pastor.

3. That after the death of Pastor Pacres, the children and MADE AN ORAL PARTITION;

4. That in that ORAL PARTITION, the shares or portion to be allotted to Mario and Veñaranda shall be fronting the national highway.

5. heirs had the said lot surveyed to determine specifically their respective locations in accordance with the oral partition made after the death of Pastor Pacres;

6. That a sketch of the subdivision plan is attached indicating the respective shares.

·          Mario filed an EJECTMENT SUIT against Ramirez’ successor-in-interest Vicentuan. Mario claimed sole ownership of the lot occupied by Ramirez/Vicentuan (buyer of the ancestral house) by virtue of the oral partition. He argued that Ramirez/Vicentuan should pay rentals to him for occupying the front lot and should transfer to the rear of Lot No. 9 where the lots of Ramirez’s vendors are located.

o    The court dismissed Mario’s assertion that his siblings sold the rear lots to Ramirez.

o    Deeds of sale in favor of Ramirez clearly described the object of the sale as the ancestral house and lot.

o    Ramirez has a right to continue occupying the property he bought.

o    Since Mario did not sell his pro-indiviso shares in the house and lot, at the very least, the parties are co-owners thereof.  

The Complaint for Specific Performance

·          1996, Veñaranda and the heirs of Mario filed the instant COMPLAINT FOR SPECIFIC PERFORMANCE against Ygoña and Ramirez. Contrary to Mario’s allegations of co-ownership in the legal redemption case, Mario’s heirs insist in the action for specific performance that the heirs agreed on a partition prior to the sale.

·          They seek compliance with such agreement from their siblings’ vendees, Ygoña and Ramirez, on the basis that the 2 were privy to these agreements. In compliance with such partition, Ygoña and Ramirez should desist from claiming any portion of the expropriation payment for the front lots.

·          Also, Veñaranda and Mario’s heirs insist that Ygoña contracted with her vendors to assume all obligations regarding the payment of estate taxes, survey, and obtain separate titles for each portion.

·          While these obligations were not written into the deeds of sale, petitioners insist it is not subject to the Statute of Frauds since these obligations were allegedly partly complied with by Ygoña.  

·          Respondents maintained that no such partition took place and that the portions sold to and occupied by them were located in front of Lot No. 9; hence they are the ones entitled to the expropriation payment.

·          Respondents presented Exh No. 1, which Valentina herself executed during her testimony. Exh No. 1 demonstrated Valentina’s recollection of the actual occupation of the Pacres siblings, their heirs and vendees. The sketch undermined petitioners’ allegation that the heirs partitioned the property and immediately took possession of their allotted lots/shares. Ygoña also denied ever agreeing to the additional obligations being imputed against her.

Ruling of the RTC

·          Petitioners failed to prove partition of the lot. TC held that the parties’ actual occupation of their portions in Lot No. 9, as evidenced by Valentina’s sketch, is the real agreement to which the parties are bound.  

Ruling of the CA

·          dismissed petitioners’ complaint for lack of evidence.

·          oral partition was not valid because the heirs did not ratify it by taking possession of their shares in accordance with their oral agreement.

·          Ygoña’s sole undertaking under the deeds of sale was the payment of the purchase price.

·          Reversed the TC on the order to survey the lot in accordance with Valentina’s sketch.  

·          the question regarding ownership of the front lots and the expropriation payment should be threshed out in the proper proceeding.

Issue 1. Whether petitioners were able to prove the existence of the alleged oral agreements such as the partition  

·          Petitioners’ only piece of evidence to prove the alleged oral partition was the joint affidavit "Confirmation of Oral Partition/Settlement of Estate" supposedly executed by some of the Pacres siblings and their heirs in 1993.

·          Petitioners did not adequately explain why the affidavit was executed only in 1993, several years after Ygoña and Ramirez took possession of the front portions. They only asserted their ownership over the front lots beginning in 1993 when expropriation became imminent and was later filed in court.

·          Petitioners’ assertion of partition is belied by Mario’s assertion of co-ownership over the same lot in the legal redemption case filed 10 years before. (extrajudicial admissions).

·          Actual possession and exercise of dominion over definite portions of the property in accordance with the alleged partition would have been strong proof of an oral partition. Valentina herself drew a sketch showing the location of the actual occupants but the actual occupation shown in her sketch is not in accordance with the terms of the alleged oral partition.

RE: alleged additional obligations of Peaches  

·          Only a party to the contract can maintain an action to enforce the obligations arising under said contract. Petitioners, not being parties to the sale between Ygoña and the petitioners’ siblings, cannot sue for the enforcement of the supposed obligations arising from said contracts.

·          It is true that third parties may seek enforcement of a contract under the 2nd par of Art 1311, which provides that "if a contract should contain some stipulation in favor of a third person, he may demand its fulfillment." (stipulations pour autrui).

·          The written contracts of sale in this case contain no such stipulation in favor of the petitioners. While petitioners claim that there was an oral stipulation, it cannot be proven under the PER. When the terms of an agreement have been reduced to writing, it is considered as containing all the terms agreed upon and there can be, between the parties and their successors in interest, no evidence of such terms other than the contents of the written agreement." 

·          The PER applies to "the parties and their successors in interest." Conversely, it has no application to a stranger to a contract. For purposes of the PER, a person who claims to be the beneficiary of an alleged stipulation pour autrui in a contract may be considered a party to that contract. This is why under Art 1311, a beneficiary of a stipulation pour autrui is required to communicate his acceptance to the obligor before its revocation.

·          To preclude the application of PER, it must be shown that "at least 1 of the parties to the suit is not party or a privy of a party to the written instrument in question and does not base a claim on the instrument or assert a right originating in the instrument or the relation established thereby." A beneficiary of a stipulation pour autrui obviously bases his claim on the contract. He therefore cannot claim to be a stranger to the contract and resist the application of the PER.

Whether the issue of ownership regarding the front portion and entitlement to the expropriation payment may be resolved in this action

·          The parties did not provide the Court with the pleadings filed in the expropriation case, which makes it impossible to know the extent of the issues already submitted by the parties.

·          The issue of ownership should be litigated in the expropriation court. The court hearing the expropriation case is empowered to entertain the conflicting claims of ownership of the condemned property and adjudge the rightful owner thereof. 

·          We cannot order the partition in accordance with the sketch of Valentina. To do so would resolve the issue of ownership over portions and preempt the expropriation court.