Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Quijada v. CA

Facts:

On April 5, 1956, Trinidad Quijada and her sisters executed a deed of conditional donation in favor of the Municipality of Talacogon, the condition being that the land shall be used exclusively for the construction of a provincial high school. Trinidad remained in possession of the land. On July 29, 1962, Trinidad sold the land to respondent Regalado Mondejar. In 1980, the heirs of Trinidad, herein petitioners, filed a complaint for forcible entry against the respondent. In 1987, the proposed campus did not materialize, and the Sangguniang Bayan enacted a resolution donating back the land to the donor. In the meantime, respondent Mondejar conveyed portions of the land to the other respondents. On July 5, 1988, petitioners filed a complaint for quieting of title, recovery of possession and ownership of the land.

Issue:

Whether the sale between Trinidad and Regalado is valid considering the capacity of the vendor to execute the contract in view of the conditional deed of donation

Held:

The donor may have an inchoate interest in the donated property during the time that ownership of the land has not reverted to her. Such inchoate interest may be the subject of contracts including a contract of sale. In this case, however, what the donor sold was the land itself which she no longer owns. It would have been different if the donor-seller sold her interests over the property under the deed of donation which is subject to the possibility of reversion of ownership arising from the non-fulfillment of the resolutory condition.

Sale, being a consensual contract, is perfected by mere consent, which is manifested the moment there is a meeting of the minds as to the offer and acceptance thereof on three (3) elements: subject matter, price and terms of payment of the price. Ownership by the seller on the thing sold at the time of the perfection of the contract of sale is not an element for its perfection. What the law requires is that the seller has the right to transfer ownership at the time the thing sold is delivered. Perfection per se does not transfer ownership which occurs upon the actual or constructive delivery of the thing sold. A perfected contract of sale cannot be challenged on the ground of non-ownership on the part of the seller at the time of its perfection; hence, the sale is still valid.

The consummation, however, of the perfected contract is another matter. It occurs upon the constructive or actual delivery of the subject matter to the buyer when the seller or her successors-in-interest subsequently acquires ownership thereof. Such circumstance happened in this case when petitioners who are Trinidad Quijada's heirs and successors-in-interest became the owners of the subject property upon the reversion of the ownership of the land to them. Consequently, ownership is transferred to respondent Mondejar and those who claim their right from him. Article 1434 of the New Civil Code supports the ruling that the seller's "title passes by operation of law to the buyer." This rule applies not only when the subject matter of the contract of sale is goods, but also to other kinds of property, including real property.

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