Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Guiang v. CA

Facts:

Over the objection of private respondent Gilda Corpuz and while she was in Manila seeking employment, her husband sold to the petitioners-spouses Antonio and Luzviminda Guiang one half of their conjugal peoperty, consisting of their residence and the lot on which it stood. Upon her return to Cotabato, respondent gathered her children and went back to the subject property. Petitioners filed a complaint for trespassing. Later, there was an amicable settlement between the parties. Feeling that she had the shorer end of the bargain, respondent filed an Amended Complaint against her husband and petitioners. The said Complaint sought the declaration of a certain deed of sale, which involved the conjugal property of private respondent and her husband, null and void.

Issue:

Whether the sale was void or merely voidable and was ratified by the amicable settlement

Held:

Respondent's consent to the contract of sale of their conjugal property was totally inexistent or absent. The nullity of the contract of sale is premised on the absence of private respondent's consent. To constitute a valid contract, the Civil Code requires the concurrence of the following elements: (1) cause, (2) object, and (3) consent, the last element being indubitably absent in the case at bar.

Neither can the "amicable settlement" be considered a continuing offer that was accepted and perfected by the parties, following the last sentence of Article 124. The order of the pertinent events is clear: after the sale, petitioners filed a complaint for trespassing against private respondent, after which the barangay authorities secured an "amicable settlement" and petitioners filed before the MTC a motion for its execution. The settlement, however, does not mention a continuing offer to sell the property or an acceptance of such a continuing offer. Its tenor was to the effect that private respondent would vacate the property. By no stretch of the imagination, can the Court interpret this document as the acceptance mentioned in Article 124.

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