G.R. No. L-33158 October 17, 1985
VALENTINA G. VILLANUEVA, ET AL. vs. HON. ALFREDO C. FLORENDO, ET AL.

FACTS

The petitioners and respondent Concepcion Villanueva are the children of spouses Macario Villanueva and Basilia Garcia, who owned a 165-square meter lot. Upon Basilia’s intestate death in 1944, the property was left to her husband and children as co-owners. In 1964, Macario, without prior partition of the estate, sold a specific western portion of the lot (82.5 sq. m.) to Erlinda Vallangca, who is the wife of his son, respondent Concepcion Villanueva. The petitioners, being co-owners, sought to exercise their legal right of redemption over the portion sold. Erlinda Vallangca refused, contending she was not a “third person” under the law but was married to a co-heir, and thus redemption could not be exercised against her.
The trial court ruled in favor of the respondents, ordering the reformation of the deed of sale and declaring Erlinda Vallangca the absolute owner. It held that the vendee, being married to an heir, was not a stranger to the co-ownership for purposes of legal redemption. The court also ordered the partition of the property among Basilia’s heirs. Petitioners assailed this decision, arguing the vendee was indeed a third party against whom redemption is allowed.

ISSUE

Whether Erlinda Vallangca, the wife of a co-owner heir, is considered a “third person” under Article 1620 of the Civil Code against whom the other co-owners may validly exercise their right of legal redemption.

RULING

Yes. The Supreme Court granted the petition and reversed the trial court’s decision. The legal logic is anchored on the precise definition of a “third person” within the context of legal redemption among co-owners under Article 1620. The Court clarified that the term refers to anyone who is not a co-owner in the property. A co-owner’s right of legal redemption is intended to reduce the number of participants in a co-ownership, which the law deems undesirable.
Erlinda Vallangca, despite being married to co-owner Concepcion Villanueva, is not herself an heir of the deceased Basilia Garcia. Succession is a mode of acquisition by virtue of which the property, rights, and obligations of a deceased person are transmitted to his heirs by will or by operation of law. Marriage to an heir does not confer upon the spouse any hereditary right to the estate of the deceased parent-in-law. Consequently, Vallangca is a stranger or third person to the co-ownership arising from the inheritance. The conveyance to her effectively introduced an outsider into the co-ownership, which is precisely the situation the right of legal redemption seeks to prevent. Therefore, the petitioners, as co-owners, have the right to redeem the sold portion from her. The Court also noted that the sale of a specific, bounded portion of an undivided estate by a co-owner was improper, as a co-owner may only sell his ideal or undivided share prior to partition.