Gosiaco v. Tiu Po
REITERATIONFacts
1. The Antecedents: Lily Lim Tan sold a parcel of land, registered under Transfer Certificate of Title No. 11412, to Anita Lim Gosiaco, who then obtained Transfer Certificate of Title No. T-11584. Tiu Po, a creditor of Lily Lim Tan, filed a complaint against Gosiaco and Tan, alleging the sale was fraudulent and intended to defraud him. Po also filed a notice of lis pendens, which was inscribed on Gosiaco's title. 2. Procedural History: The initial complaint filed by Po was dismissed by the lower court. Po appealed this dismissal to the Supreme Court. While that appeal was pending, Gosiaco filed a petition to cancel the notice of lis pendens, arguing it was causing prejudice and was intended to harass her, as the underlying action was based on a money claim. The lower court initially denied Gosiaco's petition but later reconsidered and ordered the cancellation of the lis pendens. Subsequently, the property was sold by Gosiaco to Juan Pambuan Jr., and a new title was issued without the lis pendens annotation. 3. The Petition: Tiu Po appealed the lower court's order cancelling the lis pendens, arguing that the original action was an action in rem involving title and ownership, not merely a personal action. Po sought the re-annotation of the lis pendens on the original title and on the new title issued to Juan Pambuan Jr. However, the Supreme Court noted that the underlying case Po had appealed (L-28905) had already been dismissed by the Court on July 22, 1975, rendering the present petition moot and academic.
Issue(s)
Whether the Supreme Court should order the re-annotation of the cancelled notice of lis pendens and its annotation on a new title. Whether the underlying Civil Case No. 2770-P, which was the basis for the notice of lis pendens, had already been finally determined.
Ruling
The petition was dismissed. The Supreme Court held that the case had become moot and academic because the underlying civil case (Civil Case No. 2770-P, appealed as L-28905) had already been dismissed by the Supreme Court on July 22, 1975. Therefore, the issue of annotating or cancelling the notice of lis pendens was rendered moot.
Ratio Decidendi
On the issue of re-annotating the cancelled notice of lis pendens and its annotation on a new title: The Supreme Court found that the ultimate goal of appellant Po was to have the pendency of Civil Case No. 2770-P inscribed on the title to the property. However, the Court noted that Civil Case No. 2770-P, which had been appealed to the Supreme Court as L-28905, was dismissed by the Supreme Court on July 22, 1975. Since the case that served as the basis for the notice of lis pendens had already been finally determined and dismissed by the Supreme Court, the present case seeking its annotation or re-annotation had become moot and academic. The Court emphasized that the legal basis for the annotation no longer existed due to the prior dismissal of the underlying case. On the issue of whether the underlying Civil Case No. 2770-P had already been finally determined: The Supreme Court explicitly stated that Civil Case No. 2770-P, which was docketed in the Supreme Court as L-28905 entitled "Tiu Po vs. Lily Lim Tan, et al.," was dismissed by the Supreme Court on July 22, 1975. The Court cited its own records, referring to "65 SCRA 203," as evidence of this final determination. The dismissal of this case rendered the present petition, which sought to enforce the annotation of the lis pendens based on that case, moot and academic. Therefore, the Court concluded that there was no longer any legal basis to order the re-annotation of the lis pendens.
Main Doctrine
The Supreme Court dismissed the petition as moot and academic because the underlying civil case (Civil Case No. 2770-P, appealed as L-28905) which was the basis for the notice of lis pendens had already been dismissed by the Supreme Court on July 22, 1975. Consequently, the issue of whether to annotate or cancel the lis pendens on the transfer certificate of title became moot, as the legal basis for such annotation no longer existed.