G.R. No. L-21656 March 31, 1967
TOMAS ALARCON, plaintiff-appellant, vs. RUFINA GUERRERO VDA. DE TORRES and J. M. TUASON & CO., INC., defendants-appellants.

FACTS

Tomas Alarcon filed a complaint for “Specific Performance, Damages, etc.” (Civil Case No. Q-5046) against Rufina Guerrero Vda. de Torres and J. M. Tuason & Co., Inc. The complaint alleged that on March 18, 1949, Agustin de Torres (predecessor of Rufina Guerrero) executed a deed of sale conveying a 1,000-square-meter parcel of land to Alarcon for P3,000, with a P300 down payment and the balance payable within ten years. Alarcon claimed repeated tenders of the balance were refused by Rufina Guerrero. The complaint further alleged that J. M. Tuason & Co., Inc. had filed a separate complaint (Civil Case No. Q-3277) against Alarcon, claiming ownership of the same land under T.C.T. No. 1267 and exposing Alarcon to eviction. Additionally, Alarcon invoked a Compromise Agreement dated March 16, 1953, between the “DEUDORS” (including Rufina Guerrero) and J. M. Tuason & Co., Inc., asserting that as a buyer in good faith, Tuason should be ordered to enter into a new purchase contract with him for the lot. The complaint prayed for Tuason to enter into a new contract with Alarcon, for any price difference to be deducted from a sum Tuason owed Guerrero under the compromise, and for Tuason to execute a final deed of conveyance. J. M. Tuason & Co., Inc. moved to dismiss the complaint on the ground of lis pendens, citing the pending Civil Case No. Q-3277. The trial court granted the motion and dismissed the case. Alarcon appealed.

ISSUE

Whether the trial court correctly dismissed Civil Case No. Q-5046 on the ground of lis pendens.

RULING

Yes, the trial court correctly dismissed the case on the ground of lis pendens. The requisites for lis pendens are: (1) identity of parties, or at least such as representing the same interest in both actions; (2) identity of rights asserted and relief prayed for, the relief being founded on the same facts; and (3) identity such that the judgment in the pending case would amount to res judicata in the other. It is undisputed that Civil Case No. Q-3277 is pending between Alarcon and J. M. Tuason & Co., Inc. involving the same parcel of land. In Q-3277, Tuason claims ownership and seeks to recover possession, while Alarcon asserts ownership based on the same Deed of Sale from Agustin de Torres. In Q-5046, Alarcon seeks to enforce a preferential right under the Compromise Agreement, but this claim is still anchored on the same Deed of Sale. In both cases, the question of ownership is a necessary, if not the main, issue. Therefore, whatever judgment is rendered in Civil Case No. Q-3277 will be res judicata in Civil Case No. Q-5046. This case is similar to previous cases involving the same Compromise Agreement, which were consistently dismissed on grounds of lis pendens or res judicata. The order dismissing Case No. Q-5046 with respect to J. M. Tuason & Co., Inc. is affirmed.