GR 44204; (December, 1938) (Digest)
G.R. No. 44204 . December 24, 1938.
ENRIQUE, TOMAS, VICENTE, ELVIRA, ARTURO, and JOSEFA, surnamed BERNIA, plaintiffs-appellees, vs. JOSE M. KERR and JULIANA SANTOS, defendants-appellants.
FACTS
The plaintiffs-appellees (Bernia siblings) are the heirs of Arturo Bernia. They filed an action for damages against the defendants-appellants (Jose M. Kerr and Juliana Santos) for the alleged usurpation and unlawful possession of a parcel of land belonging to the Bernia estate from 1925 to 1934. The ownership of the land had been previously litigated and definitively settled in favor of the Bernias in related land registration cases (G.R. Nos. 35746 and 35747). The defendants had taken possession of the land in August 1925 and cultivated sugar cane thereon. The plaintiffs sought recovery of the value of the sugar produced from the land during the period of defendants’ possession.
ISSUE
Whether the defendants-appellants are liable to pay damages to the plaintiffs-appellees for the unlawful possession and appropriation of the produce from the land, and if so, in what amount.
RULING
Yes, the defendants-appellants are liable for damages. The Supreme Court modified the lower court’s decision. It held that the defendants’ possession of the land from August 1925 was not in good faith, as they acquired possession through strategy. The plaintiffs and their predecessor had prior possession as owners. The Court computed the damages based on the total sugar produce of the land during the agricultural years 1925-26 to 1933-34 (8,046 piculs), deducting the corresponding share of the sugar central and the cost of production. The net loss suffered by the plaintiffs was P28,380.72. The defendants were ordered to pay this amount to the plaintiffs, with legal interest from December 27, 1934 (the date of the amended complaint). The motion for new trial was implicitly denied.
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