GR L 45171; (April, 1939) (Digest)
G.R. No. L-45171; April 10, 1939
In the matter of the intestate of the deceased Manuel Abello. EUGENIO VERAGUTH and BONIFACIA MONTILLA, petitioners-appellees, vs. ROSARIO MONTILLA, ET AL., oppositors-appellants.
FACTS
Petitioners-appellees Eugenio Veraguth and Bonifacia Montilla, shareholders of Isabela Sugar Company, Inc., filed a petition for the appointment of an administrator for the intestate estate of the deceased Manuel Abello. This was sought to represent the estate in a pending civil case (Civil Case No. 5862) where the deceased was one of the defendants. In that case, the plaintiffs (the petitioners) sought to hold Abello and others jointly and severally liable for damages and the value of shares allegedly issued without payment, for the benefit of the corporation. The properties of Abello had already been extrajudicially partitioned among his heirs (the oppositors-appellants). The lower court appointed Abello’s widow as administratrix. The heirs opposed, arguing that no administration was necessary since the estate had been partitioned and the petitioners were not direct creditors of the deceased.
ISSUE
Whether an administrator may be appointed for the estate of a deceased person whose properties have already been extrajudicially partitioned, for the purpose of representing the estate in a pending civil case where the deceased was a defendant.
RULING
Yes. The Supreme Court affirmed the appointment of an administrator. The fact of extrajudicial partition is not a bar to the appointment of an administrator when it is necessary to have a legal representative for the estate in a pending action. The pending civil case, where a claim for damages and recovery is asserted against the deceased, constitutes a contingent claim against the estate under the Code of Civil Procedure. The petitioners, as shareholders bringing a derivative suit for the corporation’s benefit, have a sufficient interest. The merits of the claim itself are to be litigated in the civil case, not in the intestate proceedings. The Court also found that the heirs had been given ample opportunity to be heard on the petition.
AI Generated by Armztrong.