G.R. No. 7729 / September 14, 1912
REMIGIO NICOLAS, plaintiff-appellant, vs. GREGORIO GUERRERO, defendant-appellee.

FACTS

Remigio Nicolas filed a complaint in the Court of First Instance of Ilocos Norte, alleging that he was the owner of two irrigated estates since 1909, having purchased them from Gregorio Guerrero. He claimed that in June 1911, Guerrero unlawfully appropriated and began cultivating the lands. Nicolas sought recovery of possession, a restraining order, and damages. Guerrero denied the allegations, asserting he was the exclusive owner, having purchased the lands from their original owner, Joaquin de Castro, in April 1911. Joaquin de Castro intervened, confirming he sold the lands to Guerrero. The trial court absolved Guerrero from the complaint. Nicolas appealed.

ISSUE

Who between Remigio Nicolas and Gregorio Guerrero has a superior right of ownership over the two parcels of land in question?

RULING

The Supreme Court AFFIRMED the trial court’s judgment, ruling in favor of defendant-appellee Gregorio Guerrero.
The Court found that Nicolas failed to prove his claim of ownership. His primary evidence was an alleged deed of sale dated May 15, 1909, which he claimed was lost. The Court disbelieved this claim, noting that: (1) Guerrero could not have executed the deed on that date as he was proven to be in Abra; (2) Nicolas’s story about losing the document in a river flood was contradicted by weather records and witness testimony; and (3) the witness presented to corroborate the sale contradicted Nicolas’s own statements. Conversely, Guerrero satisfactorily proved his ownership through a notarized deed of absolute sale dated April 26, 1911, from the original owner, Joaquin de Castro. The Court emphasized that the burden of proof lies with the plaintiff to substantiate his affirmative allegations, which Nicolas failed to do. Since Guerrero was not the owner in 1909 (he was merely a pledge creditor until 1908 and the lands had been redeemed), he could not have validly sold them to Nicolas at that time.