Hemedes v. Court of Appeals [316 SCRA 347] Case Digest

 

Hemedes v. Court of Appeals

316 SCRA 347

 

FACTS:  

Jose Hemedes executed a document entitled “Donation Inter Vivos With Resolutory Conditions” conveying ownership a parcel of land, together with all its improvements, in favor of his third wife, Justa Kauapin.

Justa Kausapin executed a “Deed of Conveyance of Unregistered Real Property by Reversion” conveying to Maxima Hemedes the subject property. Maxima & her husband Raul Rodriguez constituted a real estate mortgage over the subject property in favor of R & B Insurance to serve as security for a loan which they obtained.

R & B Insurance extrajudicially foreclosed the mortgage since Maxima failed to pay the loan even. The land was sold at a public auction with R & B Insurance as the highest bidder. A new title was subsequently issued in favor the R&B. The annotation of usufruct in favor of Justa Kausapin was maintained in the new title.

Despite the earlier conveyance of the subject land in favor of Maxima Hemedes, Justa Kausapin executed a “Kasunduan” whereby she transferred the same land to her stepson Enrique D. Hemedes, pursuant to the resolutory condition in the deed of donation executed in her favor by her late husband Jose Hemedes.  Enriques sold the property to Dominium Realty.

Dominium leased the property to its sister corporation Asia Brewery, Inc. (Asia Brewery) who made constructions therein.  Upon learning of Asia Brewery’s constructions, R & B Insurance sent it a letter informing the former of its ownership of the property. Dominium and Enrique D. Hemedes filed a complaint with the CFI for the annulment of TCT issued in favor of R & B Insurance and/or the reconveyance to Dominium of the subject property alleging that Dominion was the absolute owner of the land. The trial court ruled in favor of Dominium and Enrique Hemedes.

 

ISSUE:

Whether or not the donation in favor of Enrique Hemedes was valid?

 

HELD:

NO.

 

RATIO:

Enrique D. Hemedes and his transferee, Dominium, did not acquire any rights over the subject property.  Justa Kausapin sought to transfer to her stepson exactly what she had earlier transferred to Maxima Hemedes – the ownership of the subject property pursuant to the first condition stipulated in the deed of donation executed by her husband.  Thus, the donation in favor of Enrique D. Hemedes is null and void for the purported object thereof did not exist at the time of the transfer, having already been transferred to his sister. Similarly, the sale of the subject property by Enrique D. Hemedes to Dominium is also a nullity for the latter cannot acquire more rights than its predecessor-in-interest and is definitely not an innocent purchaser for value since Enrique D. Hemedes did not present any certificate of title upon which it relied.