GR 44041; (October, 1938) (Digest)
G.R. No. 44041; October 28, 1938
QUINTIN DE BORJA, plaintiff-appellant, vs. FELICIANA MARIANO, defendant-appellee.
FACTS
Quintin de Borja, as administrator of his father Marcelo de Borja’s intestate estate, sued Feliciana Mariano to recover several sums based on documents she executed. The primary document, Exhibit A, was styled as a “pacto de retro” sale but was treated by the parties as a mortgage securing P16,000. This sum comprised: (1) P6,000, which represented a P5,000 debt (with accrued interest) of Feliciana’s deceased husband, Cornelio Sarangaya, to Marcelo de Borja, as evidenced by a promissory note (Exhibit B); and (2) P10,000, which Quintin paid to Dr. Nicanor Jacinto to settle Feliciana’s personal debt. Feliciana also executed Exhibit C, a promissory note for P2,300. The lower court ordered Feliciana to pay only P10,000 (the Jacinto payment) and P2,300, plus interest, excluding the P6,000. Quintin appealed, contending the P6,000 was Feliciana’s separate personal debt and that the court also erred in not awarding an additional claim for P1,920 and a P1,000 penalty.
ISSUE
1. Whether the P6,000 included in the P16,000 mortgage (Exhibit A) was a personal obligation of Feliciana Mariano or a novated obligation of her deceased husband.
2. Whether the lower court erred in not awarding the plaintiff’s claim for P1,920 and a P1,000 penalty.
3. The proper amounts recoverable from the defendant based on the evidence.
RULING
The Supreme Court modified the lower court’s decision.
1. The P6,000 was not a new personal debt of Feliciana but represented the novated obligation of her deceased husband, Cornelio Sarangaya. The evidence, including the plaintiff’s own accounting in the intestate proceedings, showed the P6,000 was the P5,000 debt from Exhibit B plus accrued interest. This prior obligation, which had been approved in the estate proceedings (Civil Case No. 2585), was extinguished by novation through the execution of Exhibit A. Therefore, Feliciana was liable for the full P16,000 under Exhibit A.
2. The claim for P1,920 and the P1,000 penalty was properly disregarded by the lower court, as the evidence did not sufficiently support it.
3. The defendant is ordered to pay: (a) P16,000 with 12% interest per annum from September 2, 1926; and (b) P2,300 (per Exhibit C) with 12% interest per annum from September 2, 1926. The obligation from the prior estate proceedings is deemed extinguished by novation.
AI Generated by Armztrong.