GR L 20340; (September, 1965) (Digest)
G.R. No. L-20340 September 10, 1965
PILAR T. DEL ROSARIO, MARIANO V. DEL ROSARIO, ANIANA DEUDOR, MACARIA FULGENCIO and CARLOS JAVIER, ET AL., plaintiffs-appellants, vs. SANCHO R. JACINTO, DOMINGO C. BASCARA and J.M. TUASON & CO., INC., defendants-appellees.
FACTS
On October 2, 1958, Pilar, Mariano, and Salvador del Rosario filed an action for reconveyance and/or recovery of a 2,879-square-meter parcel of land in Tatalon, Quezon City, against Sancho R. Jacinto, Domingo C. Bascara, and J.M. Tuason & Co., Inc., docketed as Civil Case No. 5230 in the Court of First Instance (CFI) of Rizal, Pasig Branch. On March 15, 1962, the same del Rosarios, along with Aniana Deudor, Macaria Fulgencio, and Carlos Javier, filed another action for reconveyance and/or recovery of the same land against the same defendants, docketed as Civil Case No. 2254-P in the CFI of Rizal, Pasay City Branch. Upon plaintiffs’ motion, the Pasay court ordered the transfer of Case No. 2254-P to the CFI of Rizal, Quezon City Branch, where it was re-docketed as Civil Case No. Q-6324. Defendants moved to dismiss Case No. Q-6324 on the ground of lis pendens, citing the pending Case No. 5230. The Quezon City court granted the motion and dismissed Case No. Q-6324. Plaintiffs moved for reconsideration and sought to admit an amended complaint eliminating some parties to retain only Aniana Deudor, Macaria Fulgencio, and Carlos Javier as plaintiffs and Sancho R. Jacinto and Domingo C. Bascara as defendants. The court denied the motion. Plaintiffs appealed directly to the Supreme Court.
ISSUE
Whether plaintiffs’ suit in Case No. Q-6324 (Quezon City) is barred by lis pendens.
RULING
Yes, the suit is barred by lis pendens. The requisites for lis pendens are present: (1) Identity of parties, or at least such as representing the same interests in both actions. The plaintiffs in Case No. Q-6324 (Aniana Deudor, Macaria Fulgencio, and Carlos Javier) are the alleged original owners of the land, while the plaintiffs in Case No. 5230 (the del Rosarios) are their alleged purchasers; thus, they represent the same interests. The defendants in both actions, Sancho R. Jacinto and Domingo C. Bascara, are sued as purchasers from J.M. Tuason & Co., Inc., and represent the same interests. (2) Identity of rights asserted and relief prayed for, founded on the same facts. Both cases assert ownership of the same parcel of land and pray for its reconveyance and/or recovery, premised on the same facts involving a 1953 compromise agreement. (3) Identity such that the judgment in the pending case would amount to res judicata in the other. A judgment in Case No. 5230 would be res judicata to Case No. Q-6324, as parties basing their contention on the same rights are bound by the prior judgment. Therefore, all requisites for lis pendens obtain, and the order of dismissal is affirmed.