GR L 2285; (January, 1906) (Digest)
FACTS:
Ricardo Regidor, who had been in possession of certain properties in Manila for over twenty years, leased them to Williams, Chandler & Co. (defendants-appellants). The lease contract stipulated that rent was payable in advance within the first five days of each month. On May 13, 1903, Regidor assigned the rent for the month of May 1903, amounting to $325, to Frederick Garfield Waite (plaintiff-appellee), and the defendants were notified of this assignment on May 16. However, on May 21, 1903, by virtue of a final judgment in another case (La Junta Administradora de Obras Pias vs. Regidor), the Obras Pias were declared the true owners of the properties and were placed in actual possession by the sheriff. The defendants were notified that rent from May 21 onward should be paid to the Obras Pias. Consequently, the defendants paid the Obras Pias the proportionate rent for the period from May 21 to May 31 and withheld the balance of $216.66, corresponding to the first twenty days of May. Waite sued the defendants to recover the full $325.
ISSUE:
Whether the plaintiff-appellee, as assignee of Regidor, is entitled to collect from the defendants-appellants the rent for the portion of May 1903 during which Regidor was still considered the owner/possessor of the property, notwithstanding the lease provision requiring advance payment and the subsequent transfer of ownership to the Obras Pias.
RULING:
Yes, the plaintiff is entitled to the proportionate rent for the period of Regidor’s possession. The Court, applying the Civil Code, ruled that civil fruits (rents) are considered as accruing daily. Therefore, rent for the month of May must be apportioned. Regidor, as the owner/possessor until May 20, 1903, was entitled to the rent for the first twenty days. His valid assignment of this right transferred it to the plaintiff. The Obras Pias, as owners from May 21, were entitled to the rent for the remaining ten days. The contractual stipulation for advance payment between Regidor and the defendants could not prejudice the rights of the new owner (Obras Pias) to the fruits accruing after ownership was transferred. The defendants correctly paid the Obras Pias for the last ten days. The judgment of the lower court was modified, ordering the defendants to pay the plaintiff the sum of $216.66, corresponding to the rent for the first twenty days of May 1903, with legal interest from the date of demand (May 16, 1903).