Hernandez v. Quitain
REITERATIONFacts
The Antecedents: Spouses Crispulo Manlapaz and Antonia Villanueva owned a parcel of land. After their death, their children, including Sancho Manlapaz and Ernesta Manlapaz-Valdemoro (private respondent), extrajudicially partitioned the land on December 30, 1974. Sancho Manlapaz was adjudicated a portion of the land. On March 8, 1975, Sancho sold his adjudicated lot, measuring 46.40 square meters, to Perla Hernandez (petitioner) for P3,000.00. Ernesta Manlapaz-Valdemoro's portion was adjacent to Sancho's former lot. Procedural History: On April 29, 1975, private respondent filed a complaint seeking to exercise the right of legal redemption over the lot sold to petitioner, claiming she was not informed of the sale and depositing the redemption price. Petitioner argued that the right of redemption no longer existed due to the prior extrajudicial partition. The trial court ruled in favor of the private respondent, allowing redemption based on Articles 1620 and 1623 of the Civil Code. Petitioner's motion for reconsideration was denied. The Petition: Petitioner seeks reversal of the trial court's decision, reiterating that the extrajudicial partition extinguished the co-ownership and thus the right of legal redemption.
Issue(s)
Whether the private respondent, as a former co-owner after an extrajudicial partition of inherited property, can exercise the right of legal redemption. Whether the private respondent can exercise the right of pre-emption as an adjoining owner under Article 1622 of the Civil Code.
Ruling
The petition is GRANTED. The decision of the trial court is REVERSED, holding that the private respondent, as a co-owner, did not have the right to redeem the property.
Ratio Decidendi
On the right of legal redemption under Article 1620: The Court held that the right of legal redemption granted under Article 1620 of the Civil Code is founded on the existence of co-ownership. Article 484 of the Civil Code defines co-ownership as existing when the ownership of an undivided thing belongs to different persons. The Court emphasized that if a party seeking to redeem owns a portion that has been concretely determined and identified, they are no longer considered a co-owner in the true sense and are thus not entitled to the right of redemption. The purpose of legal redemption between co-owners is to reduce the number of participants until the community is dissolved; once the property is subdivided and distributed, the community has terminated, and the right of redemption ceases to exist. In this case, the parties stipulated that the inherited property had been partitioned, and the lot in question was adjudicated to Sancho Manlapaz. With the subdivision and adjudication, the co-ownership among the heirs ceased to exist, precluding the private respondent from asserting any right of legal redemption. On the right of pre-emption as an adjoining owner under Article 1622: The Court found that the private respondent's reliance on Article 1622 was futile. While she alleged that the land was urban, small, and potentially bought for speculation, she failed to allege or prove a crucial element: that the land was about to be resold or that its resale had been perfected. The Court reiterated its ruling in Soriente v. Court of Appeals and De Santos v. City of Manila that proof or allegation of an impending or perfected resale is necessary to invoke the right of pre-emption under Article 1622. Even if this fatal flaw were disregarded, the private respondent also failed to prove the other alleged elements, as the case was submitted on the pleadings.
Main Doctrine
The right of legal redemption under Article 1620 of the Civil Code is predicated on the existence of co-ownership. Once an extrajudicial partition has been made and the property is no longer undivided, the co-ownership is extinguished, and the right of legal redemption among co-owners ceases to exist. Furthermore, the right of pre-emption under Article 1622 for adjoining owners requires proof that the land is about to be resold or that its resale has been perfected.