G.R. No. L-7483 July 25, 1955
Pedro Cueto, plaintiff-appellee, vs. Blanca Collantes, Chiu Cho alias Atoy and Jose Contreras, defendants-appellants.

FACTS

The Court of First Instance of Camarines Sur rendered a judgment on February 17, 1951, declaring plaintiff Pedro Cueto entitled to repurchase certain lands within ninety days from the time the judgment becomes final. The Court of Appeals affirmed this decision with a slight modification, and its judgment was entered by the clerk of court on July 8, 1953. Plaintiff filed a petition for review by certiorari with the Supreme Court on June 29, 1953, which was dismissed by resolution dated July 16, 1953. Plaintiff received notice of this dismissal on July 22, 1953, and, not having filed a motion for reconsideration, the clerk of court made the entry of final judgment on August 7, 1953. Subsequently, Pedro Cueto assigned his right to repurchase to his brother Lucilo Cueto. On October 17, 1953, after the case record was remanded to the trial court, Pedro and Lucilo Cueto deposited the redemption price with the clerk of court and filed a joint motion praying that the defendants be required to execute a deed of reconveyance. The defendants opposed this motion, contending that the right of redemption was exercised beyond the 90-day period from the entry of final judgment of the Court of Appeals. The trial court overruled the opposition and granted the motion in an order dated October 30, 1953, which order is the subject of the present appeal.

ISSUE

Whether the plaintiff’s exercise of the right of redemption on October 17, 1953, was made within the 90-day period prescribed in the original decision, which period was to be counted from the date the judgment became final.

RULING

The Supreme Court affirmed the order of the trial court. The Court ruled that the 90-day period for the exercise of the right of redemption should be counted from August 7, 1953, the date of the entry of final judgment after the Supreme Court’s dismissal of the petition for certiorari. Since the plaintiff filed the motion and deposited the redemption money on October 17, 1953, which was within 90 days from August 7, 1953, the exercise of the right was timely. The Court explained that the finality of the Court of Appeals’ judgment was suspended by the filing of the petition for certiorari, and the entry of judgment on July 8, 1953, was subject to such petition. The finality of the judgment, for the purpose of counting the redemption period, only occurred upon the entry of final judgment on August 7, 1953, after the Supreme Court’s resolution became final. The assignment of the right to repurchase to the plaintiff’s brother was deemed not prejudicial to the defendants. The order appealed from was affirmed.