CASE DIGEST: RECIO V. HEIRS OF AGUEDO AND ALTAMIRANO - G.R. No. 182349

 CASE DIGEST: RECIO V. HEIRS OF AGUEDO AND ALTAMIRANO

Recio vs. Heirs of the Spouses Aguedo and Maria Altamirano

702 SCRA 137, G.R. No. 182349 July 24, 2013

DOCTRINES:

• A valid contract of sale requires: (a) a meeting of minds of the parties to transfer ownership of the thing sold in exchange for a price; (b) the subject matter, which must be a possible thing; and (c) the price certain in money or its equivalent.

• Court emphasized the requirement of an SPA before an agent may sell an immovable property.

• Art. 1874. When a sale of a piece of land or any interest therein is through an agent, the authority of the latter shall be in writing; otherwise, the sale shall be void.

SUMMARY OF FACTS:

Recio and Alejandro Altamirano, who represented himself as the representative of his other siblings (Altamiranos), both agreed to a contract of sale of a land located in Batangas, owned by the Altamiranos. Recio made partial payments, but when he offered to pay the remaining balance, Alejandro avoided him. Thereafter, Recio discovered that the subject land was subsequently sold to another buyer.

FACTS:

The Altamiranos offered to sell a parcel of land located in Lipa Batangas to Nena for the price of P500,000.00, but the transaction did not push through. Thereafter, Nena's son Reman Recio renewed Nena’s option to purchase the property to which Alejandro Altamirano, who introduced himself as representative of the Altamiranos, verbally agreed.

Thereafter, Reman Recio made partial payments in the total amount of P160,000.00, which were duly received and acknowledged by Alejandro. Subsequently, Reman Recio offered to pay the remaining balance of the agreed purchase price of the subject property in the amount of P340,000.00, but Alejandro kept on avoiding the petitioner. Because of this, the petitioner demanded from the Altamiranos, through Alejandro, the execution of a Deed of Absolute Sale in exchange for the full payment of the agreed price.

Thus, on February 24, 1997, the petitioner filed a complaint for Specific Performance with Damages. However, thereafter, the petitioner discovered that the subject property has been subsequently sold to Lauro and Marcelina Lajarca (Spouses Lajarca).

RTC declared the subsequent sale to spouses Lajarca null and void.

CA declared the deed of absolute sale between the Altamiranos and the Spouses Lajarca valid only insofar as the aliquot shares of the other Altamiranos are concerned.

ISSUE:

Whether or not the previous and subsequent contracts of sale are both valid.

HELD:

Yes.

A valid contract of sale requires: (a) a meeting of minds of the parties to transfer ownership of the thing sold in exchange for a price; (b) the subject matter, which must be a possible thing; and (c) the price certain in money or its equivalent. All said elements were present in both contracts of sale, thus both are valid.

As to the contract of sale between Recio and Alejandro, the determinate subject matter is the lot covered under TCT No. T-102563. The price was P500,000.00. It cannot be denied that the oral contract of sale entered into between Recio and Alejandro was valid, but only as to Alejandro's aliquot share of the subject property is concerned because he did not have an SPA to represent his other siblings who did not agree to sell their property.