GR 150866; (March, 2006) (Digest)
G.R. No. 150866 . March 6, 2006
MANUEL MALLARI and MILLIE MALLARI, Petitioners, vs. REBECCA ALSOL, Respondent.
FACTS
Stalls No. 7 and 8 in the Cabanatuan City Public Market were originally awarded to Abelardo Mallari, father of both petitioner Manuel Mallari and respondent Rebecca Alsol. Before his death, Abelardo gave Stall No. 7 to Manuel and Stall No. 8 to Rebecca. In July 1988, Rebecca and her family temporarily left for Manila. Upon their return, they discovered petitioners had removed the partition between the stalls, taken over Stall No. 8, and disposed of Rebecca’s merchandise. Despite a resolution from the City Market Committee affirming Rebecca’s award of Stall No. 8 and a subsequent Contract of Lease she executed with the City Government, petitioners refused to vacate.
Petitioners filed an action for annulment of the lease contract, which was dismissed for non-exhaustion of administrative remedies. Rebecca then filed an action for recovery of possession. The Regional Trial Court ruled in her favor, ordering petitioners to vacate, pay damages, and pay attorney’s fees. The Court of Appeals affirmed but deleted the awards for actual and exemplary damages. Petitioners elevated the case to the Supreme Court.
ISSUE
The core issues are: (1) the validity of the Lease Contract between respondent and the City Government; and (2) the propriety of the award of attorney’s fees.
RULING
The Supreme Court denied the petition and affirmed the Court of Appeals. On the first issue, petitioners argued the Lease Contract was invalid because it was signed by the City Mayor instead of the City Treasurer and that the mayor did not appear before the notarizing officer. The Court held that under the then-governing Batas Pambansa Blg. 337 (the Local Government Code), the city mayor had the authority to sign contracts on behalf of the city government. The alleged defect in notarization did not render the contract void but merely made it an unacknowledged private document, which was still valid and binding between the parties. The contract established Rebecca’s right to possess the stall as a lessee.
On the second issue, the Court sustained the award of attorney’s fees. Under Article 2208 of the Civil Code, attorney’s fees are recoverable when the defendant’s act compels the plaintiff to incur expenses to protect her interest. Petitioners’ persistent refusal to vacate Stall No. 8 despite Rebecca’s lawful lease and repeated demands forced her to litigate to protect her rights. Therefore, the award of P10,000.00 as attorney’s fees was deemed just and reasonable. The petition was denied for lack of merit.