G.R. No. L-11519 and L-11520; April 30, 1958
INES PORCIUNCULA, ETC. ET AL., plaintiffs-appellants, vs. NICOLAS E. ADAMOS, ET AL., defendants-appellees.

FACTS

Juan Porciuncula, married to Regina Nicolas (who died in 1931), owned several lots in Caloocan, Rizal (now Quezon City). On November 22, 1940, he executed a power of attorney authorizing lawyer Nicolas E. Adamos to look for buyers for these lots. This was superseded by another document dated January 13, 1941, authorizing Adamos to subdivide and sell the lots. Pursuant to this, three lots (Nos. 818-C-3, 818-C-4, and 818-C-5) were consolidated, subdivided, and partially sold. A portion (Lot No. 1, 40,000 sq.m.) was sold to Real Monasterio de la Purisima Concepcion. The remaining properties (Lots 2 and 3) were registered in the name of “Juan Porciuncula married to Regina Nicolas” on December 11, 1943, despite Regina’s prior death. These were developed into the University Orchard Subdivision, and numerous lots were sold to various purchasers.
On December 13, 1943, Juan Porciuncula (then about 88 years old) executed a deed revoking Adamos’s power of attorney and ratifying all his acts. On the same day, Porciuncula executed an absolute deed of sale conveying Lots 2 and 3 to Nicolas Adamos and Vicente Feria for P21,703.80. Consequently, Transfer Certificate of Title No. 69475 was issued in their names on December 14, 1943. Adamos and Feria continued selling lots from the subdivision thereafter.
Juan Porciuncula died on January 20, 1945. On March 31, 1947, his surviving daughter Ines Porciuncula and granddaughters (heirs) filed a complaint (Civil Case No. 174) against Adamos, Feria, and the Register of Deeds seeking annulment of the December 13, 1943 deed of sale. They alleged the sale lacked consideration, was obtained through fraud, and was prohibited by law because Adamos was the vendor’s attorney-in-fact and Feria was his notary/lawyer at the time. They prayed for cancellation of the title, issuance of a new one in their favor, or payment of the property’s current value, plus a share of uncollected installment payments assumed by the defendants.
The defendants moved to dismiss, claiming plaintiffs lacked legal capacity to sue and were estopped. The trial court eventually dismissed the complaint, finding the sale valid and that plaintiffs had ratified it by accepting benefits. Plaintiffs appealed.

ISSUE

The core issue, as framed by the Supreme Court for remand, involves several unresolved factual and legal questions necessary for a proper adjudication of the case, including:
1. The nature and validity of the December 13, 1943 deed of sale from Porciuncula to Adamos and Feria.
2. The legal capacity of Juan Porciuncula to sell the properties, considering the prior death of his wife Regina Nicolas and the implications for the conjugal partnership property.
3. Whether the conjugal partnership of Juan and Regina had been liquidated and her estate distributed, and if so, when and how.
4. Whether the plaintiffs had renounced their inheritance from Regina Nicolas.
5. The real value of the properties sold and whether the sale prejudiced the legitime (compulsory inheritance) of the appellants.
6. Whether the sale was subject to the prior liquidation of the conjugal partnership.

RULING

The Supreme Court set aside the decision of the lower court in G.R. No. L-11519 (Civil Case No. 174) and remanded the record to the trial court for rehearing and further proceedings. The Court invoked Section 9, Rule 50, in connection with Section 1, Rule 58, of the Rules of Court, in the interests of justice, stating that a proper determination of the issues required the reception of additional evidence on the unresolved questions listed above. The appeal in G.R. No. L-11520 (a related case, Civil Case No. 295) was dismissed, as the appellants had desisted from prosecuting it. No costs were awarded.