GR 140417; (May, 2004) (Digest)
G.R. No. 140417; May 28, 2004
AZNAR BROTHERS REALTY COMPANY, petitioner, vs. HEIRS OF ANICETO AUGUSTO & PETRONA CALIPAN, represented by ALFREDO AUGUSTO, respondents.
FACTS
The subject is Lot No. 4397, originally owned by Aniceto Augusto. Upon his death in 1934, the property remained undivided among his heirs. In 1962, several individuals, purporting to be heirs, executed an Extrajudicial Partition and subsequently sold the lot to Aznar Brothers Realty Company via a Deed of Sale of Unregistered Land, which was registered. Carlos Augusto, a grandson of Aniceto, later petitioned for reconstitution of a lost title, and a Transfer Certificate of Title (TCT) was issued to Aznar in 1963. The actual heirs, respondents herein, remained in possession of the property until they were evicted by Aznar in 1991.
In 1992, the heirs filed a complaint against Aznar for recovery of the property, declaration of nullity of the deed of sale, and cancellation of TCT. Aznar raised the affirmative defense of prescription, arguing the action was filed 30 years after the sale’s registration. The Regional Trial Court dismissed the case on the ground of prescription, ruling that an action for reconveyance prescribes in ten years from registration.
ISSUE
Whether the action filed by the heirs for recovery of ownership and declaration of nullity of the deed of sale had already prescribed.
RULING
The Supreme Court denied Aznar’s petition and affirmed the Court of Appeals. The action had not prescribed. The Court clarified the nature of the action. The heirs’ complaint was not a mere action for reconveyance based on fraud, which prescribes in ten years. Instead, it was an action for declaration of the deed’s nullity due to absence of consent, as the vendors in the 1962 sale were not the legitimate heirs and had no authority to sell the property. An action for declaration of nullity of a void contract is imprescriptible.
The Court further found that laches did not apply. The heirs, mostly unschooled farmers, had entrusted land matters to Carlos Augusto and remained in possession until their 1991 eviction. They filed suit in 1992, just eight months after discovering the sale upon their ejection. They did not sleep on their rights. The case was remanded to the trial court for a full trial on the merits to resolve the underlying issues of ownership and the validity of the sale.