G.R. No. 18697 ; September 12, 1922
MANUEL CARRATALA, plaintiff-appellee, vs. QUINTILLANA SAMSON, PAULE TABOTABO, and ESTANISLAO LABUCAY, defendant-appellants.

FACTS

Manuel Carratala and Quintillana Samson were married in 1907. Quintillana brought paraphernal property (a parcel of land) to the marriage. In 1912, Carratala, having contracted leprosy, went to the Culion leper colony but soon left for Spain, where he resided until 1921. In 1919, Quintillana filed for a judicial declaration of Carratala’s absence, which was denied. Despite this, on June 24, 1920, Quintillana married Paule Tabotabo. The subject property was included in a 1916 cadastral survey, with title issued in the name of “Quintillana Samson, the wife of Manuel Carratala.” On January 12, 1921, Quintillana sold the property with right of repurchase to Estanislao Labucay for P10,000. The register of deeds refused to annotate the sale because the certificate of title was in Quintillana’s name as Carratala’s wife, not as Tabotabo’s wife. Carratala filed a civil action to declare the sale null and void. Quintillana was also convicted of bigamy in a separate criminal case.

ISSUE

Whether the sale of the paraphernal property by Quintillana Samson to Estanislao Labucay is valid and enforceable.

RULING

No. The sale is null and void. The marriage between Quintillana Samson and Paule Tabotabo was illegal and void because her first marriage to Manuel Carratala was still subsisting. As a married woman (feme covert) whose husband was absent, Quintillana could not legally alienate her paraphernal property without the authorization of her husband or without observing the formalities prescribed by law. The deed is voidable at the option of the husband or his heirs. The trial court’s order to return the property to Carratala (subject to the wife’s right of management under the law) is affirmed. The Court also held that Labucay, the purchaser, is not entitled to reimbursement from Carratala in this action. The risk of dealing with a married woman without the required authorization falls on the purchaser. If Labucay has any remedy, it is through a separate action against Quintillana Samson and possibly Manuel Carratala.