Digest: De Guia v. CA

De Guia v. CA

G.R. No. 120864, October 8, 2003

Facts:

Petition for Review on Certiorari. Abejo instituted an action for recovery of possession with damages against his co-owner DEGUIA.

 

Abejo’s contentions were: He is the owner of the ½ undivided portion of a property used as a fishpond registered Register of Deeds of Bulacan. He alledged, his ownership over approximately 39,611 square meters out of the FISHPOND’s total area of 79,220 square meters. DE GUIA continues to possess and use the FISHPOND without any contract and without paying rent to ABEJO’s damage and prejudice. DE GUIA refuses to surrender ownership and possession of the FISHPOND despite repeated demands to do so after DE GUIA’s sublease contract over the FISHPOND had expired. 

 

In his Answer, DE GUIA alleged: The complaint does not state a cause of action and has prescribed. The FISHPOND was originally owned by Maxima Termulo who died intestate with Primitiva Lejano as heronly heir. ABEJO is not the owner of the entire FISHPOND but the heirs of Primitiva Lejano who authorized him topossess the entire FISHPOND. ABEJO’s ownership of the ½ undivided portion of the FISHPOND as void and claimed ownership over an undivided half portion of the FISHPOND for himself. DE GUIA sought payment of damages and reimbursement for the improvements he introduced as a builder in good faith. 

RTC decision was in favor of Abejo.

CA affirmed the RTC’s decisions

Issue: 

Whether or not a co-owner may file an action for ejectment against his/her co-owner 

Ruling:

Article 487 of the Civil Code provides, “*any one of the co-owners may bring an action in ejectment.” This article covers all kinds of actions for the recovery of possession. Article 487 includes forcible entry and unlawful detainer (accion interdictal), recovery of possession (accion publiciana), and recovery of ownership (accion dereivindicacion). The summary actions of forcible entry and unlawful detainer seek the recovery of physical possession only. These actions are brought before municipal trial courts within one year from dispossession. However, accion publiciana, which is a plenary action for recovery of the right to possess, falls under the jurisdiction of the proper regional trial court when the dispossession has lasted for more than one year. Accion dereivindicacion, which seeks the recovery of ownership, also falls under the jurisdiction of the proper regional trial court. Any co-owner may file an action under Article 487 not only against a third person, but also against another co-owner who takes exclusive possession and asserts exclusive ownership of the property. In the latter case, however, the only purpose of the action is to obtain recognition of the co-ownership. The plaintiff cannot seek exclusion of the defendant from the property because as co-owner he has a right of possession. The plaintiff cannot recover any material or determinate part of the property. In Hermogena G. Engreso with Spouse Jose Engreso v. Nestoria De La Cruz and Herminio De La Cruz, we reiterated the rule that a co-owner cannot recover a material or determinate part of a common property prior to partition as follows: It is a basic principle in civil law that before a property owned in common is actually partitioned, all that the co-owner has is an ideal or abstract quota or proportionate share in the entire property. A co-owner has no right to demand a concrete, specific or determinate part of the thing owned in common because until division is effected his right over the thing is represented only by an ideal portion. As such, the only effect of an action brought by a co-owner against a co-owner will be to obtain recognition of the co-ownership; the defendant cannot be excluded from a specific portion of the property because as a co-owner he has a right to possess and the plaintiff cannot recover any material or determinate part of the property. Thus, the courts a quo erred when they ordered the delivery of one-half (½) of the building in favor of private respondent. Xxxx Following the inherent and peculiar features of co-ownership, while ABEJO and DE GUIA have equal shares in the FISHPOND quantitatively speaking, they have the same right in a qualitative sense as co-owners. Simply stated, ABEJO and DE GUIA are owners of the whole and over the whole, they exercise the right of dominion. However, they are at the same time individual owners of a ½ portion, which is truly abstract because until there is partition, such portion remains indeterminate or unidentified. As co-owners, ABEJO and DE GUIA may jointly exercise the right of dominion over the entire FISHPOND until they partition the FISHPOND by identifying or segregating their respective portions.

Since a co-ownership subsists between ABEJO and DE GUIA, judicial or extra-judicial partition is the proper recourse. An action to demand partition is imprescriptible and not subject to laches. Each co-owner may demand at any time the partition of the common property unless a co-owner has repudiated the co-ownership under certain conditions. Neither ABEJO nor DE GUIA has repudiated the co-ownership under the conditions set by law. To recapitulate, we rule that a co-owner may file an action for recovery of possession against a co-owner who takes exclusive possession of the entire co-owned property. However, the only effect of such action is a recognition of the co-ownership. The courts cannot proceed with the actual partitioning of the co-owned property. Thus, judicial or extra-judicial partition is necessary to effect physical division of the FISHPOND between ABEJO and DE GUIA. An action for partition is also the proper forum for accounting the profits received by DE GUIA from the FISHPOND. However, as a necessary consequence of such recognition, ABEJO shall exercise an equal right to possess, use and enjoy the entire FISHPOND.