G.R. No. L‑2966 (December 29, 1906)

FACTS
– The plaintiff, Nicolás Concepción Tan Taco, was a tenant of the hacienda “Fortuna” (San Carlos, Occidental Negros) under a verbal contract with the defendant, Vicente Gay, to cultivate a portion of land and share the sugar‑cane harvest 50‑50.
– From 1900 to May 1904 the plaintiff cultivated corn and sugar cane, sold his share to the defendant, and received cash and goods advances exceeding the value of his share. At the time he left the hacienda (wounded by bandits) the accounts showed the plaintiff owed the defendant ₱1,021.29.
– The defendant claimed the debt was cancelled when the plaintiff surrendered his share of the still‑growing 1904 crop, which the defendant later harvested and appropriated.
– The plaintiff alleged that, upon his departure, he and the defendant agreed that his son‑in‑law, Gestorio Caballero, would take charge of the crop and harvest it for the plaintiff’s benefit. A new account was opened charging the balance to Caballero, though the exact nature of their contract was unclear.

ISSUE
Whether the plaintiff retained a right to recover damages for the defendant’s appropriation of the 1904 sugar‑cane crop, or whether that right was extinguished by the arrangement that transferred the plaintiff’s claim to Caballero and cancelled the plaintiff’s indebtedness to the defendant.

RULING
The Supreme Court affirmed the lower court’s judgment:

– The agreement with Caballero transferred the plaintiff’s residual right in the 1904 crop to Caballero and, by charging the plaintiff’s indebtedness to Caballero, extinguished the plaintiff’s claim against the defendant.
– Consequently, the plaintiff had no enforceable right to damages for the defendant’s harvesting of the crop.
– The judgment of the lower court is upheld with costs; the case is remanded for the lower court to take appropriate action regarding Caballero’s possible claim.

Concurrence: Chief Justice Arellano and Justices Torres, Mapa, Carson, Willard, and Tracey.