GR L 18301; (July, 1965) (Digest)
G.R. No. L-18301 July 31, 1965
ADRIANO ANTONIO, plaintiff-appellant, vs. BENJAMIN JALANDONI and MANUEL PLANA, defendants-appellees.
FACTS
The plaintiff-appellant, Adriano Antonio, filed his first action (Civil Case No. 4172) in the Court of First Instance of Iloilo against the defendants-appellees, Benjamin Jalandoni and Manuel Plana, for the recovery of Lot No. 8119 of the Passi Cadastre. He alleged that this lot, formerly part of the bed of the Jalaud River, became dry land in 1954 due to a change in the river’s course and was an accretion to his Lot No. 564 of the Dueñas Cadastre. He claimed Jalandoni fraudulently secured title to it, depriving him of ownership and possession. During the trial on November 6, 1957, neither the plaintiff nor his lawyer appeared, and the court dismissed the complaint. On March 1, 1958, the plaintiff filed a second action (Civil Case No. 4743). The defendants moved to dismiss this second complaint on the ground of res judicata (barred by prior judgment), which the trial court granted in an order dated October 25, 1960. The plaintiff appealed, arguing there was no identity of cause of action or subject matter between the two cases.
ISSUE
Whether the second complaint is barred by res judicata due to a prior judgment in the first case.
RULING
The Supreme Court set aside the order of dismissal and remanded the case for further proceedings. The Court ruled that while there was identity of cause of action in both cases (the plaintiff’s alleged right of ownership and possession of land and its violation by the defendants), there was no complete identity of subject matter. In the first case, the subject matter was solely Lot No. 8119. In the second case, the plaintiff claimed not only Lot No. 8119 but also an additional area described as a big portion of Lot No. 1104, with the total area claimed being fifteen (15) hectares. The portion outside Lot No. 8119 was not part of the subject matter of the first case. Therefore, the defense of res judicata was correct only with respect to Lot No. 8119, but not with respect to the additional area claimed.