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Case Digest Magallanes

This case involves a dispute over property ownership between Francisca Gatchalian and Paz Tanwangco who were longtime friends. A 1969 court decision awarded Paz a half share of the disputed property and rental fees. Francisca appealed but her appeals were dismissed. In 1972, the parties reached a compromise agreement but the court refused to enforce it and proceeded with an auction sale of the property. Francisca filed this case to enforce the compromise agreement and annul the court orders allowing the auction sale. The Supreme Court ruled that the compromise agreement should be enforced subject to Francisca paying Paz's awarded attorney fees, as the judgment had not been fully satisfied. The court orders allowing the auction sale were set aside.

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20 views2 pages

Case Digest Magallanes

This case involves a dispute over property ownership between Francisca Gatchalian and Paz Tanwangco who were longtime friends. A 1969 court decision awarded Paz a half share of the disputed property and rental fees. Francisca appealed but her appeals were dismissed. In 1972, the parties reached a compromise agreement but the court refused to enforce it and proceeded with an auction sale of the property. Francisca filed this case to enforce the compromise agreement and annul the court orders allowing the auction sale. The Supreme Court ruled that the compromise agreement should be enforced subject to Francisca paying Paz's awarded attorney fees, as the judgment had not been fully satisfied. The court orders allowing the auction sale were set aside.

Uploaded by

Gervin Arquizal
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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CASE DIGEST

FRANCISCA GATCHALIAN, petitioner


vs.
HON. JESUS P. ARLEGUI
G.R. No. L-35615

FACTS:

Before the war Francisca Gatchalian (Aling Kikay) and Paz Tanwangco (who are now both over
eighty-seven years old) were good friends who lived together in the same house located at Solano,
Nueva Vizcaya. They were separated because of the war. Paz Tanwangco evacuated to
Pangasinan. Francisca Gatchalian presumably remained at Solano.
In 1965 Paz Tanwangco sued Francisca Gatchalian in the Court of First Instance of Nueva
Vizcaya for the recovery of her alleged share in Lots 25 and 28 which were registered in Francisca's
name.
Judge Jose D. Parayno in a decision dated August 30, 1969 ordered Francisca Gatchalian (1) to
reconvey and deliver the possession to Paz Tanwangco of "one-half undivided portion of Lots 25
and 28 of the Solano cadastre" and the improvements thereon and (2) to pay her the sum of
P18,895 as one-half of the accrued rentals up to July, 1967 and P145 monthly until the possession
is delivered to Paz, with legal rate of interest from the date of the finality of the judgment, plus -
P2,000 as attorney's fees.
Francisca Gatchalian appealed to the Court of Appeals. Her appeal was dismissed because she
did not file her brief on time (Tanwangco vs. Gatchalian, CA-G.R. No. 45054-R, Resolutions of
October 16, 1970 and August 31, 1971).
She filed in this Court a petition for certiorari to annul those resolutions. Her petition was
dismissed for lack of merit (Gatchalian vs. Tanwangco, L-34138, Resolution of October 26, 1971.
Entry of judgment therein was made on November 16, 1971).
After the remand of the record, the lower court, upon motion of Paz Tanwangco, issued an order
of execution dated January 25, 1972. On that same date, the clerk of court under the direction of
Judge Vicente M. Tupasi, instead of issuing only a writ of execution, issued also a "writ of
possession", commanding the provincial sheriff "to require" Francisca Gatchalian "to reconvey one-
half.
After several motions, Francisca Gatchalian quoted and annexed Paz Tanwangco's letter of
March 20, 1972 to her counsel, Dominador S. La Madrid, wherein Paz offered to compromise the
judgment in Civil Case No. 1454 by waiving her claim to the rentals and cancelling the auction sale if
Francisca would withdraw her complaint in Civil Case No. 1944, cancel her notice of lis pendens on
the title of Lot 28-A and agree that they would simply divide that lot equally.
Pursuant to that amicable settlement and in consonance with section 1, Rule 17 of the Rules of
Court, Francisca Gatchalian filed in the lower court on April 25, 1972 a notice for the dismissal of her
action in civil Case No. 1944. The defendants therein had not yet answered her complaint.
(However, as already stated, the lower court upon Paz Tanwangco's motion, dismissed Civil Case
No. 1944 in its order of March 27, 1972).
Also pursuant to the amicable settlement, Francisca Gatchalian's counsel wrote a letter to the
register of deeds of Nueva Vizcaya cancelling her notice of lis pendens on Tanwangco's title to lot
28-.,A. The notice of lis pendens was cancelled on April 28, 1972 (See back of TCT No. T-32210, p.
134 Rollo).
Paz Tanwangco's lawyer also contended that Francisca Gatchalian's notice of dismissal and
cancellation of the notice of lis pendens were unnecessary because of the lower court's order of
dismissal dated March 27, 1972.
The opposition of Paz Tangwangco's counsel to Francisca Gatchalian's motion to stay execution
provoked Francisca to file in the lower court on June 3, 1972 another case against Paz Tanwangco to
enforce the compromise agreement and to claim damages in the sum of P90,000. Tanwangco's
counsel, Eleodoro Benitez, was impleaded as a co-defendant. The case was docketed as Civil Case
No. 1974. (It was later dismissed in Judge Dunuan's order of August 1, 1973 because of the
pendency in Civil Case No. 1454 of the motion for approval of the compromise.)
On August 22, 1972, the last time Francisca Gatchalian's motion to stay execution was set for
hearing, she and her counsel did not appear. In view of their non-appearance, Judge Jesus P.
Arlegui denied the motion. He directed that the auction sale should be held.
Francisca Gatchalian moved for the reconsideration of the order of denial. She alleged that she
and her counsel never received any notice setting their motion for hearing on August 22,1972.
Judge Arlegui denied the motion in his order of September 28, 1972. He reasoned out that the
auction sale could no longer be suspended because the writ of execution had already been
enforced. He intimated that the effect of the compromise on the judgment should have been raised
in Civil Case No. 1944.
On October 12, 1972, Francisca Gatchalian filed the instant special civil actions of certiorari and
prohibition in order to annul Judge Arlegui's orders of August 22 and September 28, 1972.
ISSUE:
Whether the judgment in Civil Case No. 1454 was novated and superseded by the alleged
compromise.

RULING:

The compromise already mentioned should be enforced but subject to the condition that Francisca
Gatchalian should pay the attorney's fees of P2,000 adjudged in Judge Parayno's decision.

The lower court refused to enforce the compromise because in Its opinion the judgment had already
been executed and could been executed by novated by the parties. That stand is not well-taken. The
undeniable fact is that the judgment has not yet been fully satisfied because the monetary liability of
Francisca Gatchalian, under the lower court's judgment, in the sum of P35,853.60, has no yet been
paid. (See sec. 47, Rule 39, Rules of Court as to the entry of satisfaction of judgment).

On the other hand, the lower court did not find that the offer of compromise made by Paz
Tanwangco was vitiated by duress or undue influence.

Hence, the lower court's orders, which authorize the auction sale should be set aside. It is to the
interest of the two octogenarians (now nearing ninety years) that this long-drawn out litigation be
terminated as soon as possible. We believe that the- ruling already announced is a judicious and
equitable solution of the case.

Ronald N. Magallanes

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