GR 45024; (June, 1937) (Digest)
G.R. No. 45024 ; June 25, 1937
A. P. SEVA and ERNESTO J. SEVA, plaintiffs-appellees, vs. SOCORRO NOLAN and CUSTODIO ARIMAS, defendants. CUSTODIO ARIMAS, appellant.
FACTS
Defendant Socorro Nolan, a married woman, was charged with adultery by her husband, defendant-appellant Custodio Arimas. She engaged the legal services of plaintiffs-appellees (attorneys Seva) to defend her, agreeing to pay P3,500. She paid P100 and executed a deed of sale with pacto de retro over a parcel of land registered solely in her name under the Torrens system. She was acquitted but failed to pay the balance or repurchase the land. Plaintiffs sued both spouses to recover the balance and to compel delivery of the certificate of title. The husband contested, arguing the attorney’s fees were not chargeable to the conjugal partnership and that the land, though registered in the wife’s name, was acquired with conjugal funds and thus her sale without his consent was void.
ISSUE
1. Whether the attorney’s fees incurred by the wife in defending against a criminal charge for adultery filed by the husband are chargeable to the conjugal partnership.
2. Whether a Torrens title issued in the name of a married woman can be annulled to the prejudice of a purchaser in good faith based on evidence that the property was acquired with conjugal funds.
RULING
1. Yes. The conjugal partnership is liable for the attorney’s fees. Under Article 1408 of the Civil Code, the partnership is liable for obligations contracted by the wife when she can legally bind the partnership. Citing Spanish Supreme Court decisions and Section 115 of the Code of Civil Procedure, the Court held that a wife may sue or defend herself in an action against her husband without his consent. Therefore, the expenses she incurs in such litigation, including attorney’s fees for defending against the husband’s criminal complaint, are chargeable to the conjugal partnership. The husband, as administrator, is ordered to pay the balance.
2. No. The Torrens certificate of title in the wife’s name cannot be annulled against a purchaser in good faith. Under the Torrens system, the registered owner’s title is indefeasible. Plaintiffs, as purchasers in good faith, had the right to rely solely on the certificate showing the wife as the exclusive owner. They were not required to inquire further into whether the property was acquired with conjugal funds. Furthermore, Act No. 3922 (amending Article 1387 of the Civil Code) allowed a married woman to alienate property registered in her name without her husband’s consent. Thus, the deed of sale with pacto de retro is valid and binding.
The appealed judgment was affirmed with modification, ordering the husband, as administrator of the conjugal partnership, to pay the debt.
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