G.R. No. 134718 August 20, 2001
HEIRS OF ROMANA INGJUG-TIRO; BEDESA, PEDRO, RITA all surnamed TIRO, and BARBARA TIRO (deceased) represented by NORMA SARAMOSING, HEIRS OF FRANCISCO INGJUG: LEONARDO, LILIA, FERNANDA, ZENAIDA, PACITA and ANTONIO, all surnamed INGJUG; and HEIRS OF FRANCISCA INGJUG-FUENTES: ULDARICO and GUILLERMA, all surnamed FUENTES, and PAULINA INGJUG-FUENTES (deceased) represented by VICTOR, ELENA, SERGIA and DESIDERIO, all surnamed MUÑEZ, petitioners,
vs.
SPOUSES LEON V. CASALS and LILIA C. CASALS, SPOUSES CARLOS L. CLIMACO and LYDIA R. CLIMACO, SPOUSES JOSE L. CLIMACO, JR. and BLANQUITA C. CLIMACO, and CONSUELO L. CLIMACO, respondents.
BELLOSILLO, J.:
FACTS:
A parcel of land originally titled in the name of Mamerto Ingjug, the property is located in Cebu. The claimants are the descendants of Mamento Ingjug on one hand who allege that they have been deprived of their successional rights through fraud and misrepresentation, and a group of vendees on the other hand claiming to have acquired the property for value and in good faith. The case filed by the descendants of Mamerto Ingjug was dismissed by the trial court on the ground of prescription and laches. The dismissal was affirmed by the Court of Appeals. The affirmance by the appellate court is now assailed in this petition for review.
ISSUE:
Whether petitioners' right to institute a complaint for partition and reconveyance is effectively barred by prescription and laches.
RULING:
In actions for reconveyance of the property predicated on the fact that the conveyance complained of was null and void ab initio, a claim of prescription of action would be unavailing.13 "The action or defense for the declaration of the inexistence of a contract does not prescribe.14 "Neither could laches be invoked in the case at bar. Laches is a doctrine in equity and our courts are basically courts of law and not courts of equity. Equity, which has been aptly described as "justice outside legality," should be applied only in the absence of, and never against, statutory law. Aequetas nunguam contravenit legis. The positive mandate of Art. 1410 of the New Civil; Code conferring imprescriptibility to actions for declaration of the inexistence of a contract should preempt and prevail over all abstract arguments based only on equity. Certainly, laches cannot be set up to resist the enforcement of an imprescriptible legal right, and petitioners can validly vindicate their inheritance despite the lapse of time.
Considering the foregoing, the trial court judge should not have summarily dismissed petitioners' complaint; instead, he should have required the defendants to answer the complaint, deferred action on the special defenses of prescription and laches, and ordered the parties to proceed with the trial on the merits. Verily, the dismissal of the case on the ground of prescription and laches was premature. The summary or outright dismissal of an action is not proper where there are factual matters in dispute which need presentation and appreciation of evidence. Here, petitioners still had to prove the following: first, that they were the coheirs and co-owners of the inherited property; second, that their coheirs-co-owners sold their hereditary rights thereto without their knowledge and consent; third, that forgery, fraud and deceit were committed in the execution of the Deed of Extrajudicial Settlement and Confirmation of Sale since Francisco Ingjug who allegedly executed the deed in 1967 actually died in 1963, hence, the thumbprint found in the document could not be his; fourth, that Eufemio Ingjug who signed the deed of sale is not the son of Mamerto Ingjug, and therefore not an heir entitled to participate in the disposition of the inheritance; fifth, that respondents have not paid the taxes since the execution of the sale in 1965 until the present date and the land in question is still declared for taxation purposes in the name of Mamerto Ingjug, the original registered owner, as of 1998; sixth, that respondents had not taken possession of the land subject of the complaint nor introduced any improvement thereon; and seventh, that respondents are not innocent purchasers for value.
ISSUE:
Whether petitioners' right to institute a complaint for partition and reconveyance is effectively barred by prescription and laches.
RULING:
In actions for reconveyance of the property predicated on the fact that the conveyance complained of was null and void ab initio, a claim of prescription of action would be unavailing.13 "The action or defense for the declaration of the inexistence of a contract does not prescribe.14 "Neither could laches be invoked in the case at bar. Laches is a doctrine in equity and our courts are basically courts of law and not courts of equity. Equity, which has been aptly described as "justice outside legality," should be applied only in the absence of, and never against, statutory law. Aequetas nunguam contravenit legis. The positive mandate of Art. 1410 of the New Civil; Code conferring imprescriptibility to actions for declaration of the inexistence of a contract should preempt and prevail over all abstract arguments based only on equity. Certainly, laches cannot be set up to resist the enforcement of an imprescriptible legal right, and petitioners can validly vindicate their inheritance despite the lapse of time.
Considering the foregoing, the trial court judge should not have summarily dismissed petitioners' complaint; instead, he should have required the defendants to answer the complaint, deferred action on the special defenses of prescription and laches, and ordered the parties to proceed with the trial on the merits. Verily, the dismissal of the case on the ground of prescription and laches was premature. The summary or outright dismissal of an action is not proper where there are factual matters in dispute which need presentation and appreciation of evidence. Here, petitioners still had to prove the following: first, that they were the coheirs and co-owners of the inherited property; second, that their coheirs-co-owners sold their hereditary rights thereto without their knowledge and consent; third, that forgery, fraud and deceit were committed in the execution of the Deed of Extrajudicial Settlement and Confirmation of Sale since Francisco Ingjug who allegedly executed the deed in 1967 actually died in 1963, hence, the thumbprint found in the document could not be his; fourth, that Eufemio Ingjug who signed the deed of sale is not the son of Mamerto Ingjug, and therefore not an heir entitled to participate in the disposition of the inheritance; fifth, that respondents have not paid the taxes since the execution of the sale in 1965 until the present date and the land in question is still declared for taxation purposes in the name of Mamerto Ingjug, the original registered owner, as of 1998; sixth, that respondents had not taken possession of the land subject of the complaint nor introduced any improvement thereon; and seventh, that respondents are not innocent purchasers for value.
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