Alipio v. CA - 341 Scra 441
Alipio v. CA - 341 Scra 441
Alipio v. CA - 341 Scra 441
Where estate settled upon dissolution of marriage. When the marriage is dissolved
by the death of the husband or wife, the community property shall be inventoried,
administered, and liquidated, and the debts thereof paid, in the testate or intestate
proceedings of the deceased spouse. If both spouses have died, the conjugal
partnership shall be liquidated in the testate or intestate proceedings of either.
As held in Calma v. Taedo,[10] after the death of either of the spouses, no complaint
for the collection of indebtedness chargeable against the conjugal partnership can be
brought against the surviving spouse. Instead, the claim must be made in the
proceedings for the liquidation and settlement of the conjugal property. The reason for
this is that upon the death of one spouse, the powers of administration of the
surviving spouse ceases and is passed to the administrator appointed by the court
having jurisdiction over the settlement of estate proceedings.[11] Indeed, the surviving
spouse is not even a de facto administrator such that conveyances made by him of
any property belonging to the partnership prior to the liquidation of the mass of
conjugal partnership property is void.[12]
The ruling in Calma v. Taedo was reaffirmed in the recent case of Ventura v.
Militante.[13] In that case, the surviving wife was sued in an amended complaint for a
sum of money based on an obligation allegedly contracted by her and her late
husband. The defendant, who had earlier moved to dismiss the case, opposed the
admission of the amended complaint on the ground that the death of her husband
terminated their conjugal partnership and that the plaintiff's claim, which was
chargeable against the partnership, should be made in the proceedings for the
settlement of his estate. The trial court nevertheless admitted the complaint and ruled,
as the Court of Appeals did in this case, that since the defendant was also a party to
the obligation, the death of her husband did not preclude the plaintiff from filing an
ordinary collection suit against her. On appeal, the Court reversed, holding that
as correctly argued by petitioner, the conjugal partnership terminates upon the death
of either spouse. . . . Where a complaint is brought against the surviving spouse for
the recovery of an indebtedness chargeable against said conjugal [partnership], any
judgment obtained thereby is void. The proper action should be in the form of a claim
to be filed in the testate or intestate proceedings of the deceased spouse.
In many cases as in the instant one, even after the death of one of the spouses, there
is no liquidation of the conjugal partnership. This does not mean, however, that the
conjugal partnership continues. And private respondent cannot be said to have no
remedy. Under Sec. 6, Rule 78 of the Revised Rules of Court, he may apply in court
for letters of administration in his capacity as a principal creditor of the deceased . . . if
after thirty (30) days from his death, petitioner failed to apply for administration or
request that administration be granted to some other person.[14]
The cases relied upon by the Court of Appeals in support of its ruling, namely,
Climaco v. Siy Uy[15] and Imperial Insurance, Inc. v. David,[16] are based on different
sets of facts. In Climaco, the defendants, Carlos Siy Uy and Manuel Co, were sued
for damages for malicious prosecution. Thus, apart from the fact the claim was not
against any conjugal partnership, it was one which does not survive the death of
defendant Uy, which merely resulted in the dismissal of the case as to him but not as
to the remaining defendant Manuel Co.
With regard to the case of Imperial, the spouses therein jointly and severally executed
an indemnity agreement which became the basis of a collection suit filed against the
wife after her husband had died. For this reason, the Court ruled that since the
spouses' liability was solidary, the surviving spouse could be independently sued in
an ordinary action for the enforcement of the entire obligation.
It must be noted that for marriages governed by the rules of conjugal partnership of
gains, an obligation entered into by the husband and wife is chargeable against their
conjugal partnership and it is the partnership which is primarily bound for its
repayment.[17] Thus, when the spouses are sued for the enforcement of an obligation
entered into by them, they are being impleaded in their capacity as representatives of
the conjugal partnership and not as independent debtors such that the concept of
joint or solidary liability, as between them, does not apply. But even assuming the
contrary to be true, the nature of the obligation involved in this case, as will be
discussed later, is not solidary but rather merely joint, making Imperial still
inapplicable to this case.
From the foregoing, it is clear that private respondent cannot maintain the present suit
against petitioner. Rather, his remedy is to file a claim against the Alipios in the
proceeding for the settlement of the estate of petitioner's husband or, if none has
been commenced, he can file a petition either for the issuance of letters of
administration[18] or for the allowance of will,[19] depending on whether petitioner's
husband died intestate or testate. Private respondent cannot short-circuit this
procedure by lumping his claim against the Alipios with those against the Manuels
considering that, aside from petitioner's lack of authority to represent their conjugal
estate, the inventory of the Alipios' conjugal property is necessary before any claim
chargeable against it can be paid. Needless to say, such power exclusively pertains
to the court having jurisdiction over the settlement of the decedent's estate and not to
any other court.
Second. The trial court ordered petitioner and the Manuel spouses to pay private
respondent the unpaid balance of the agreed rent in the amount of P50,600.00
without specifying whether the amount is to be paid by them jointly or solidarily. In
connection with this, Art. 1207 of the Civil Code provides:
The concurrence of two or more creditors or of two or more debtors in one and the
same obligation does not imply that each one of the former has a right to demand, or
that each one of the latter is bound to render, entire compliance with the prestations.
There is a solidary liability only when the obligation expressly so estates, or when the
law or the nature of the obligation requires solidarity.
Indeed, if from the law or the nature or the wording of the obligation the contrary does
not appear, an obligation is presumed to be only joint, i.e., the debt is divided into as
many equal shares as there are debtors, each debt being considered distinct from
one another.[20]
Private respondent does not cite any provision of law which provides that when there
are two or more lessees, or in this case, sublessees, the latter's obligation to pay the
rent is solidary. To be sure, should the lessees or sublessees refuse to vacate the
leased property after the expiration of the lease period and despite due demands by
the lessor, they can be held jointly and severally liable to pay for the use of the
property. The basis of their solidary liability is not the contract of lease or sublease but
the fact that they have become joint tortfeasors.[21] In the case at bar, there is no
allegation that the sublessees refused to vacate the fishpond after the expiration of
the term of the sublease. Indeed, the unpaid balance sought to be collected by private
respondent in his collection suit became due on June 30, 1989, long before the
sublease expired on September 12, 1990.
Neither does petitioner contend that it is the nature of lease that when there are more
than two lessees or sublessees their liability is solidary. On the other hand, the
pertinent portion of the contract involved in this case reads:[22]
2. That the total lease rental for the sub-leased fishpond for the entire period of three
(3) years and two (2) months is FOUR HUNDRED EIGHT-FIVE THOUSAND SIX
HUNDRED (P485,600.00) PESOS, including all the improvements, prawns,
milkfishes, crabs and related species thereon as well all fishing equipment,
paraphernalia and accessories. The said amount shall be paid to the Sub-Lessor by
the Sub-Lessees in the following manner, to wit:
A. Three hundred thousand (P300,000.00) Pesos upon signing this contract; and
B. One Hundred Eight-Five Thousand Six-Hundred (P185,6000.00) Pesos to be paid
on June 30, 1989.
Clearly, the liability of the sublessees is merely joint. Since the obligation of the
Manuel and Alipio spouses is chargeable against their respective conjugal
partnerships, the unpaid balance of P50,600.00 should be divided into two so that
each couple is liable to pay the amount of P25,300.00.
WHEREFORE, the petition is GRANTED. Bienvenido Manuel and Remedios Manuel
are ordered to pay the amount of P25,300.00, the attorney's fees in the amount of
P10,000.00 and the costs of the suit. The complaint against petitioner is dismissed
without prejudice to the filing of a claim by private respondent in the proceedings for
the settlement of estate of Placido Alipio for the collection of the share of the Alipio
spouses in the unpaid balance of the rent in the amount of P25,300.00.
SO ORDERED.
Bellosillo, (Chairman), Quisumbing, Buena, and De Leon, Jr., JJ., concur.