G.R. No. 39806; March 10, 1934
LA URBANA, Sociedad Mutua de Construccion y Prestamos, plaintiff-appellant, vs. SUSANA VILLASOR and her husband, EUGENIO VILLANUEVA, defendants-appellees.

FACTS

Defendant Susana Villasor, a married woman, offered to buy a house and lot from plaintiff La Urbana for P11,000, payable in installments. At the time of the offer, her husband, defendant Eugenio Villanueva, was absent from the Philippines. Upon his return, he did not approve the transaction. Despite La Urbana’s formal acceptance of Villasor’s offer, no payment was made, and the defendants refused to proceed with the purchase. La Urbana filed a suit for specific performance.

ISSUE

Whether the contract of sale entered into by the wife without the marital consent of her husband is enforceable.

RULING

No. The contract is not enforceable. Under the law, the wife’s contracts requiring marital consent are not valid without the husband’s affirmative concurrence. The husband’s consent cannot be presumed from a mere lack of prompt disapproval. Since the husband was absent and did not consent to the contract at the time it was made, and La Urbana, knowing of the wife’s coverture, did not secure the husband’s consent, the contract lacks a necessary element for validity. The trial court’s judgment denying specific performance is affirmed.

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