GR 42626; (December, 1935) (Digest)
G.R. No. 42626 , December 21, 1935
EDUARDO MATUTE, ET AL. vs. ANTONIO MATUTE Y AMASA, ET AL.
FACTS
Plaintiffs Eduardo, Manuel, and Carmen Matute, children of the deceased Manuel Matute y Amasa, sued their uncle, defendant Antonio Matute y Amasa, to recover their alleged share of profits from a pawnshop business. Their father and Antonio had formed a partnership. After the father’s death, a new partnership, “Antonio Matute, S. en C.,” was formed in 1907 between Antonio and the widow (plaintiffs’ mother) Maria Luisa Sequera y Lopez, representing herself and her four minor children. The capital contributions were P205,312.73 from Antonio and P60,000 from the Matute-Sequera family (P30,000 for the mother and P7,500 for each of the four children). In 1922, the plaintiffs and their sister Trinidad executed a deed of partition (Exhibit 4) of their parents’ estate, which listed the entire P60,000 capital as an asset and adjudicated it solely to Trinidad. The plaintiffs later claimed that only their mother’s P30,000 share was partitioned, and that their individual P7,500 shares remained, entitling them to profits from 1922 onward.
ISSUE
Whether the plaintiffs’ individual capital shares in the partnership were included in and extinguished by the 1922 deed of partition, thereby barring their claim for subsequent profits.
RULING
Yes. The Supreme Court affirmed the dismissal of the complaint. The deed of partition expressly included the entire P60,000 capital as part of the estate’s assets and adjudicated it exclusively to Trinidad Matute. The partition was validly executed and approved by the competent courts in the relevant testamentary and guardianship proceedings. The plaintiffs’ long inaction—failing to claim any profits for over ten years after the partition—constituted prescription under the Code of Civil Procedure and confirmed the interpretation that they had parted with their interests. The court did not adjudicate property but merely declared the legal effect of the partition: the P60,000 interest passed first to Trinidad and, upon her death, to her children.
AI Generated by Armztrong.