G.R. No. L-45318; May 12, 1939
Jacinto Mesina, plaintiff-appellant, vs. Petra Delino, administratrix of the intestate of Angel Evangelista, defendant-appellee.

FACTS

Jacinto Mesina filed a foreclosure suit against the estate of Angel Evangelista, represented by administratrix Petra Delino, for a mortgage debt. The court ordered Delino, as administratrix, to pay Mesina within 90 days, and in default, to sell the mortgaged property at public auction. Delino failed to pay, and the sheriff sold the property at auction to Mesina as the highest bidder. The trial court initially approved the sale but later granted Delino’s motion for reconsideration, setting aside the approval on the ground that the property, being part of a judicial estate (in custodia legis), could not be lawfully sold by the sheriff.

ISSUE

May a mortgaged real property, which is under judicial administration due to the mortgagor’s death and thus in custodia legis, be sold at public auction by the sheriff in satisfaction of a judgment in a foreclosure suit?

RULING

Yes. The Supreme Court reversed the trial court’s order and reinstated the approval of the sheriff’s sale. Under Section 708 of the Code of Civil Procedure, a secured creditor may elect to foreclose the mortgage by ordinary action, making the executor or administrator a party defendant. The subsequent sale of the mortgaged property, upon default, is governed by the rules on execution sales. The property being in custodia legis does not bar its sale in a foreclosure proceeding, as the law expressly permits this remedy. The case of Piliin vs. Jocson and Agoncillo cited by the appellee is inapplicable, as it involved an ordinary execution sale, not a foreclosure sale under Section 708. The Court also found no equitable grounds to set aside the sale, noting the property was sold at its assessed value and no better offer was made.

AI Generated by Armztrong.