G.R. No. 43855; August 6, 1937
LA URBANA, Sociedad Mutua de Construccion y Prestamos, plaintiff-appellee, vs. MARIA F. VILLA ABRILLE, defendant-appellant.

FACTS

Plaintiff-appellee La Urbana filed an action in the Court of First Instance of Davao to foreclose a real estate mortgage executed by defendant-appellant Maria F. Villa Abrille as security for a loan of P40,000. The trial court rendered judgment in favor of La Urbana, ordering Villa Abrille to pay the sum of P42,492.18 with interest and P6,000 as attorney’s fees. Villa Abrille appealed, assigning four errors.

ISSUE

1. Whether the complaint was ambiguous, unintelligible, and uncertain.
2. Whether the loan was usurious.
3. Whether the depositions and exhibits were properly admitted.
4. Whether the awarded attorney’s fees were reasonable.

RULING

1. On the complaint: The complaint was not ambiguous or uncertain. It provided an itemized statement of the indebtedness and clearly stated the cause of action.
2. On the usury defense: The defense was properly raised. The interest rates (10% and 12%) were within legal limits, and the other charges were usual for building and loan associations and sanctioned by law. Section 9 of the Usury Law (requiring an answer under oath) did not apply, as that section pertains to actions filed by the victim of usury to recover what was exacted, not to foreclosure suits by the lender.
3. On the depositions: There was substantial compliance with the Code of Civil Procedure requirements for taking depositions, as notice was duly served on the appellant.
4. On attorney’s fees: While the award was in accord with the contract, the Court reduced the amount from P6,000 to P3,000 as a reasonable allowance under the circumstances.

The appealed judgment was AFFIRMED with MODIFICATION, reducing the attorney’s fees to P3,000.

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