G.R. No. L-1639; March 19, 1949
FLORENCIO REYES, petitioner, vs. SOTERO RODAS, Judge of the Court of First Instance of Manila, JOAQUIN GARCIA, as Sheriff of Manila, and JOSE V. RAMIREZ, respondents.

FACTS

An ejectment case was filed against Florencio Reyes by Jose V. Ramirez, as administrator of the property owned by Basilisa Gonzales and Carmen Gorricho de Aguado. The courts ruled against Reyes, and the Supreme Court affirmed the decision in March 1947. While the case was pending in the Supreme Court, Ramirez was relieved as administrator, and the Bank of the Philippine Islands was appointed in his stead. Reyes then negotiated with the new administrator and purchased the property on May 9, 1947, obtaining a Torrens title in his name. Despite this, the respondent judge, upon motion of Ramirez (who was no longer the administrator), issued a writ of execution on July 25, 1947, to eject Reyes and deliver possession to Ramirez.

ISSUE

Whether the respondent judge acted in excess of jurisdiction in issuing the writ of execution after Reyes had become the absolute owner of the property and Ramirez had lost his legal personality in the case.

RULING

Yes. The Supreme Court annulled the writ of execution. Ramirez lost his legal personality to move for execution upon his removal as administrator. Furthermore, Reyes’s purchase of the property merged the interests of the plaintiff and defendant in the ejectment case, making the execution absurd and unjust—it would oust the owner (Reyes) to deliver possession to a former representative (Ramirez) who no longer had any interest. The alleged lease contract in favor of Elvira Montenegro, which was contingent on Reyes’s ouster and had an expired term, did not affect this result. The Court set aside the order and writ of execution and made the preliminary injunction permanent.

AI Generated by Armztrong.