G.R. No. 37849; October 5, 1933
FELIPE BUENCAMINO, JR., plaintiff-appellee, vs. FLAVIANO BANTUG, in his capacity as Deputy Sheriff of Nueva Ecija and JUAN DE DIOS OCAMPO, defendants-appellants.

FACTS

Mariano Llanera owned a parcel of land covered by a certificate of title. On June 21, 1927, Juan de Dios Ocampo obtained a judgment against Mariano Llanera. On March 12, 1929, after the judgment, Llanera sold the land to his daughter-in-law, Clara Lazaro. On July 11, 1929, Clara Lazaro sold the same land to Felipe Buencamino, Jr. Both deeds of sale were registered only on November 25, 1930. Ocampo sought to execute his judgment, and the sheriff attached and advertised the land for sale. Buencamino filed a third-party claim and subsequently an action to declare himself owner and to restrain the sale.

ISSUE

Whether the conveyances of the land from Mariano Llanera to Clara Lazaro and then to Felipe Buencamino, Jr., made after a judgment was rendered against Llanera, were fraudulent and void as against the judgment creditor, thereby making the land still liable for execution.

RULING

No. The conveyances were valid and made in good faith. The legal presumption of fraud under Article 1297 of the Civil Code arising from conveyances made after a judgment was sufficiently rebutted. The evidence showed both purchasers paid valuable consideration (P15,000) and bought the land in the belief Llanera could freely dispose of it, as it was not the subject of the litigation. The belated registration did not impair the validity of the sales. Consequently, when the sheriff attached the land, it no longer belonged to the judgment debtor, Llanera. The trial court’s judgment declaring Buencamino the owner and making the injunction permanent was affirmed.

AI Generated by Armztrong.