GR L 3546; (September, 1907) (Digest)
G.R. No. L‑3546
September 13, 1907
FACTS
– Plaintiff Pia del Rosario claimed ownership of a set of jewels valued at ₱1,555.
– The jewels were delivered by the plaintiff to Praxedes Flores (her husband’s wife) for sale on commission; the agreement required return to the plaintiff if unsold within two months.
– Without the plaintiff’s knowledge or consent, Flores pledged the jewels to Teresa Verches for a loan of ₱500. Flores was later convicted of estafa for the pledge.
– The trial court ordered the jewels returned to the plaintiff and directed the plaintiff to pay ₱500 to Verches (or, if the jewels could not be returned, to hold Juan Lucena and Praxedes Flores jointly liable) and to pay Verches ₱1,055 as reimbursement for the loan.
ISSUE
Whether the plaintiff, as the true owner of the pledged jewels, may be compelled to reimburse the pledgee (Verches) for the amount advanced, notwithstanding that the pledge was made without the plaintiff’s authority and constituted an unlawful act.
RULING
– Under Article 464 of the Civil Code, the owner of movable property has an absolute right of action to recover the property from any possessor, unless the possessor falls within one of the statutory exceptions (public sale, Montes de Piedad, or lawful commercial exchange). Verches was not covered by any exception.
– The plaintiff’s alleged “ratification” of Flores’s illegal pledgebased merely on an inquiry by the plaintiff’s sondoes not satisfy the legal requisites for ratification; a genuine ratification must be manifested with the same authority as the original act.
– Consequently, the lower court’s order requiring the plaintiff to reimburse Verches violates Article 464. The plaintiff is not liable for the loan amount; the pledgee must return the jewels unconditionally.
Disposition
The Court reverses the judgment of the trial court, directs that the jewels be furnished back to Pia del Rosario immediately, and dismisses the award of ₱500 (and the subsequent ₱1,055) against the plaintiff. No costs are awarded.
Concurrence: Torres, Johnson, Willard, and Tracey, JJ.