Scribd
Upload
123 views3 pages

Afp v. Ca

The document summarizes a Supreme Court case regarding a land dispute between multiple parties. Solid Homes had entered a contract to purchase land from Investco but stopped making payments. Investco then sold the land to AFP Mutual Benefit Association. Solid Homes sought to have a notice of lis pendens (pending litigation) annotated on the land titles, but the Court ruled that Solid Homes' suit against Investco was not the type that warranted a lis pendens notice. The Court also upheld AFP Mutual Benefit Association's status as a buyer in good faith, as the land titles were clear at the time of purchase.

Uploaded by

Erikha Araneta
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
123 views3 pages

Afp v. Ca

The document summarizes a Supreme Court case regarding a land dispute between multiple parties. Solid Homes had entered a contract to purchase land from Investco but stopped making payments. Investco then sold the land to AFP Mutual Benefit Association. Solid Homes sought to have a notice of lis pendens (pending litigation) annotated on the land titles, but the Court ruled that Solid Homes' suit against Investco was not the type that warranted a lis pendens notice. The Court also upheld AFP Mutual Benefit Association's status as a buyer in good faith, as the land titles were clear at the time of purchase.

Uploaded by

Erikha Araneta
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 3

G. R. No.

104769 - September 10, 2001

AFP MUTUAL BENEFIT ASSOCIATION, INC., Petitioner, vs. COURT OF APPEALS, SOLID


HOMES, INC., INVESTCO, INC., and REGISTER OF DEEDS OF MARIKINA, Respondents.

x---------------------------------------------------------x

G.R. No. 135016 September 10, 2001

SOLID HOMES, INC., Petitioner, vs. INVESTCO, INC., substituted by ARMED FORCES OF


THE PHILIPPINES MUTUAL BENEFIT ASSOCIATION, INC., Respondent.

What is before the Court is Solid Homes, Inc.s motion for reconsideration of the decision
promulgated on March 3, 2000, reversing the decision of the Court of Appeals and ordering
the Register of Deeds to cancel the notice of lis pendens on the titles issued to petitioner AFP
Mutual Benefit Association, Inc. (AFPMBAI), declaring it as buyer in good faith and for value.

Facts:
Prior to September 7, 1976, Investco, Inc. was the owner of six (6) parcels of raw land,
located in Quezon City and Marikina... registered under titles in the names of its
predecessors-in-interests, Angela Perez-Staley and Antonio Perez, Jr.
On September 7, 1976, Investco, Inc. agreed to sell the six (6) parcels of land to Solid
Homes... for P10,211,075.00, payable in installments from July 22, 1977 to January 22, 1983.
Among other terms, the parties agreed that Solid Homes would pay the amount of
P100,000.00 as down... payment upon execution of the contract; that Solid Homes would
pay P1,942,215.00 as additional down payment on July 22, 1977, October 22, 1977, and
January 22, 1978; and that Solid Homes would pay the balance of P8,188.860.00 in ten (10)
semi-annual installments for a period of... five (5) years, with interest at twelve (12%)
percent per annum. The first installment was due on July 22, 1978.
The parties... agreed that Solid Homes would evict the squatters in the property or obtain a
waiver from them, that it would cause the original titles to be cancelled and new ones
issued in the name of Investco, Inc. and that Investco, Inc. would contribute one-half of the...
expenses in clearing the property of occupants, in an amount not exceeding P350,000.00.
The contract of sale to Solid Homes was not registered with the Registry of Deeds of
Marikina nor annotated on the original titles issued in the name of Investco, Inc.
However, after paying the amount of P2,042,215.00 corresponding to the downpayment,
and the amount of P4,084,430.00 representing the first four (4) semi-annual installments
and a portion of the fifth installment, Solid Homes made no further payment to Investco, Inc.
after February 19, 1981.
On March 13, 1981, Investco, Inc. and its predecessors-in-interests Angela Perez-Staley and
Antonio Perez, Jr. filed with the Court of First Instance of Rizal, Pasig, Branch 26 an action
for specific performance and damages against Solid Homes, Inc
In the meantime, on April 23, 1984, Investco, Inc. offered to sell the property to AFP Mutual
Benefit Association, Inc. for P27,079,767.00, subsequently reduced to P24,000,000.00,
payable in installments. Investco, Inc. furnished AFP MBAI with certified true copies of the
titles... covering the Marikina property.
In June, 1984, AFP MBAI verified the titles with the Register of Deeds of Marikina, Metro
Manila and found that copies of the titles that Investco, Inc. gave were genuine and faithful
reproductions of the original titles on file with the Register of Deeds. AFP MBAI noted that...
there were no liens or encumbrances annotated on the titles.
After determining that the Investco property was suitable for the housing project of the
Armed Forces of the Philippines and that the titles covering the same were "clean" and
"genuine," AFP MBAI agreed to purchase the same from Investco, Inc. for the price of
P24,000,000.00,... payable in installments for a period of one (1) year.
Issues: Whether Solid Homes is entitled to the annotation of its notice of lis pendens on the
titles of Investco, Inc. and AFP Mutual Benefit Association, Inc.
Ruling:
We find the motion without merit.
Basically, Solid Home's complaint was one for "annotation of lis pendens and other matters
with prayer for restraining order and writ of preliminary injunction" against Investco, Inc.
AFP MBAI and the Register of Deeds of Marikina, to cause the annotation of lis pendens... in
the titles of Investco, Inc. and AFP MBAI. Actually, therefore, the suit is to compel the
Register of Deeds of Marikina to annotate the notice of lis pendens on the titles of AFP MBAI
with a claim for damages against Investco, Inc. and AFP MBAI for depriving Solid
Homes of its rights to the property as provided under the contract to buy and sell. In its
verified complaint, Solid Homes alleged that "the act of defendant Register of Deeds in not
causing the annotation of the lis pendens on the titles then registered in the name of...
defendant Investco, Inc. and in issuing titles in the name of defendant AFP Mutual Benefit
Association, Inc., without carrying over the proper annotation of lis pendens are contrary to
law".[18] On the basis of this allegation, it prayed for an... order directing the Register of
Deeds of Marikina "to cause the annotation" of the notice of lis pendens on the old and new
titles.
Obviously, the Register of Deed's obligation to annotate the notice of lis pendens is one that
arises from law.[19] Hence, the action is actually one for mandamus to compel the
performance of a clear legal duty.[20] There is... no such action as one for "annotation of lis
pendens," as Solid Homes sought in its complaint.
Lis pendens is a Latin term which literally means a pending suit or a pending litigation
while a notice of lis pendens is an announcement to the whole world that a particular real
property is in litigation, serving as a warning that one who acquires an... interest over the
said property does so at his own risk, or that he gambles on the result of the litigation over
the said property. It is but a signal to the intending buyer or mortgagee to take care or
beware and to investigate the prospect or non-prospect of the litigation... succeeding before
he forks down his money.
Unquestionably, such action did not directly involve titles to, ownership or possession
of the subject property, and, therefore, was not a proper subject of a notice of lis
pendens.
"The Torrens System was adopted in this country because it was believed to be the most
effective measure to guarantee the integrity of land titles and to protect their indefeasibility
once the claim of ownership is established and recognized. If a person purchases a piece of
land on the assurance that the seller’s title thereto is valid, he should not run the risk of
being told later that his acquisition was ineffectual after all. This would not only be unfair to
him.

What is worse is that if this were permitted, public confidence in the system would be
eroded and land transactions would be attended by complicated and not necessarily
conclusive investigations and proof of ownership. The further consequence would be that
land conflicts could be even more numerous and complex than they are now and possibly
also more abrasive, if not even violent."

Prevailing jurisprudence recognizes that "All persons dealing with property covered by the
torrens certificate of title are not required to go beyond what appears on the face of the
title." "The buyer is not even obligated to look beyond the certificate to investigate the titles
of the seller appearing on the face of the certificate." Hence, we ruled that AFPMBAI is a
buyer in good faith and for value.

Consequently, we reject movant Solid Homes, Inc.’s contention that AFPMBAI is a transferee
pendente lite of Investco, Inc

You might also like