GR L 45576; (April, 1939) (Digest)
G.R. No. L-45576; April 19, 1939
MAXIMO FUENTES, petitioner, vs. THE JUSTICE OF THE PEACE OF PILA, LAGUNA, ET AL., respondents.
FACTS
Cayetano del Mundo filed an unlawful detainer case in the justice of the peace court of Pila, Laguna, against Maximiano Fuentes, alleging a lease that had expired and a refusal to return possession. Fuentes answered, claiming ownership of the land and noting a pending case for ownership between the same parties in the Court of First Instance of Laguna. The justice of the peace court ruled in favor of del Mundo, ordering Fuentes to return possession. Fuentes then filed a petition for certiorari in the Court of First Instance, which granted it, declaring the judgment null and void for having been rendered in excess of jurisdiction. This resolution was appealed to the Supreme Court.
ISSUE
Did the justice of the peace court of Pila lack jurisdiction over the unlawful detainer case because (1) a case involving ownership of the same land was pending in the Court of First Instance, or (2) because the defendant raised the question of ownership in his answer?
RULING
No. The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the Court of First Instance and denied the petition for certiorari.
1. The summary action for unlawful detainer concerns only material possession (possession de facto) and is independent of any action for ownership, which concerns civil possession arising from ownership. The two actions are consistent and governed by separate procedures. A pending action for ownership does not divest the justice of the peace court of jurisdiction over a detainer case.
2. The defendant’s allegation of ownership in his answer does not oust the justice of the peace court of jurisdiction unless the question of ownership is necessarily involved. In this case, the action was based on an expired lease. The law does not permit a lessee to deny the lessor’s title. Therefore, the question of ownership was not only not necessarily involved; it could not be validly raised in the detainer case. The justice of the peace court had jurisdiction to decide the unlawful detainer case.
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