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526 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED

Butte vs. Manuel Uy & Sons, Inc.

No. L-15499 February 28, 1962.

ANGELA M. BUTTE, plaintiff-appellant, vs. MANUEL UY

a SONS, INC., defendant-appellee.

Succession; When rights transmitted to heirs; Scope of right of

succession.—The rights to the succession of a deceaseed person
are transmitted to his heirs from the moment of his death, and
the right of succession includes all property rights and obligations
that survive the decedent.

Same; Co-ownership over undivided estate; Right of legal

redemption; Each co-owner, regardless of size of share, vested with
right.—A co-owner of an undivided share is necessarily a co-owner
of the whole. Therefore, any one of the heirs of an undivided
estate, as such co-owner, becomes entitled to exercise the right of
legal redemption as soon as another co-owner has sold his
undivided share to a stranger. This right of redemption vests
exclusively in consideration of the redemptioner's quality of co-
owner, independently of the size of the redemptioner's share
which the law nowhere takes into account.

Same; Same; Same; Same; Immaterial whether or not

redemptioner will remain co-owner after exercising right of
redemption.—All that the law requires is that the legal
redemptioner should be a co-owner at the time the undivided
share of another co-owner is sold to a stranger. Whether or not
the redemptioner will continue being a co-owner after exercising
the legal redemption is irrelevant for the purposes of the law.

Same; Same; Same; Same; When administrator without right

of legal redemption.—While under Section 3, Rule 85, Rules of
Court, the administrator has the right to the possession of the
real and personal estate of the deceased, so far as needed for the
payment of the decedent's debts and the expenses of
administration, and the administrator may bring or defend
actions for the recovery or protection of the property or rights of
the deceased (Sec. 2, Rule 88), such rights of possession and
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administration do not include the right of legal redemption of the

undivided share sold to a stranger by one of the co-owners after
the death of another, because in such case the right of legal
redemption does not form part of the estate of the deceased co-
owner. Hence, that right can not be transmitted to the heirs of the
deceased co-owner.

Same; Sale of hereditary property; Title deemed acquired

directly from heirs if heirship not disputed.—When the heirship is
undisputed, the purchaser of hereditary property is not deemed to
have acquired directly from the decedent, because a dead man
cannot convey title, or from the administrator who owns no part of
the estate. He can only derive his title from the heirs, represented
by the administrator, as their trustee or legal representative.

527

VOL. 4, FEBRUARY 28, 1962 527

Butte vs. Manuel Uy & Sons, Inc.

Same; Same; Same; Period for making legal redemption

counted from notice in writing by vendor.—The text of Article
1623 of the Civil Code clearly and expressly prescribes that the
thirty-day period for making the redemption should be counted
from notice in writing by the vendor. Under Article 1524 of the
Civil Code of 1889, it was immaterial who gave the notice; so long
as the redeeming co-owner learned of the alienation in favor of a
stranger the period began to run. It is thus apparent that a
particular method of giving notice was selected, and that method
must be deemed exclusive (39 Am. Jur., 237; Payno vs. State, 12
S.W. [2nd] 528).

Same; Same; Same; Same; Why vendor, not purchaser, is

required to give notice.—The law requires that not ice of sale of an
undivided portion of property be given by the seller, not by the
buyer, because he is in the best position to know who are his co-
owners that under the law must be notified of the sale, and
because such notice by the seller serves as a reaffirmation of the
perfection and validity of the sale, so that the party notified need
not entertain doubt that the seller may later contest the
alienation.

APPEAL from a decision of the Court of First Instance of

Manila.
The facts are stated in the opinion of the Court.
     Delgado, Flores & Macapagal for plaintiff-appellant.

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     Pelaez & Jalandoni for defendant-appellee.

REYES, J.B.L., J.:

Appeal from a decision of the Court of First Instance of

Manila dismissing the action for legal redemption filed by
plaintiff-appellant.
It appears that Jose V. Ramirez, during his lifetime, was
a co-owner of a house and lot located at Sta. Cruz, Manila,
as shown by Transf er Certif icate of Title No. 52789,
issued in the name of the following co-owners: Marie
Garnier Vda. de Ramirez, 1/6; José V. Ramirez, 1/6; José E.
Ramirez, 1/6; Belen T. Ramirez, 1/6; Rita De Ramirez, 1/6;
and José Ma. Ramirez, 1/6.
On October 20, 1951. José V. Ramirez died.
Subsequently, Special Proceeding No. 15026 was instituted
to settle his estate, that included the one-sixth (1/6)
undivided share in the aforementioned property. And
although his last will and testament, wherein he
bequeathed his estate to his children and grandchildren
and one-third (1/3) of the free portion to Mrs. Angela M.
Butte, hereinafter re-

528

528 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED

Butte vs. Manuel Uy & Sons, Inc.

ferred to as plaintiff-appellant, has been admitted to

probate, the estate proceedings are still pending up to the
present on account of the claims of creditors which exceed
the assets of the deceased. The Bank of the Philippine
Islands was appointed judicial administrator.
Meanwhile, on December 9, 1958, Mrs. Marie Garnier
Vda. de Ramirez, one of the co-owners of the late José V.
Ramirez in the Sta. Cruz property, sold her undivided 1/6
share to Manuel Uy & Sons, Inc., defendant-appellant
herein, for the sum of P500,000.00. After the execution by
her attorney-in-fact, Mrs. Elsa R. Chambers, of an affidavit
to the effect that formal notices of the sale had been sent to
all possible redemptioners, the deed of sale was duly
registered and Transfer Certificate of Title No. 52789 was
cancelled in lieu of which a new one was issued in the name
of the vendee and the other-co-owners.
On the same day (December 9, 1958), Manuel Uy a l Son
Inc. sent a letter to the Bank of the Philippine Islands as
judicial administrator of the estate of the late José V.
Ramirez informing it of the above-mentioned sale. This
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letter, together with that of the bank, was forwarded by the

latter to Mrs. Butte c/o her counsel Delgado, Flores a
Macapagal, Escolta, Manila, and having received the same
on December 10, 1958, said law office delivered them to
plaintiff-appellant's son, Mr. Miguel Papa, who in turn
personally handed the letters to his mother, Mrs. Butte, on
December 11 and 12, 1958. Aside from this letter of
defendant-appellant, the vendor, thru her attorney-in-fact
Mrs. Chambers, wrote said bank on December 11, 1958
confirming vendee's letter regarding the sale of her 1/6
share in the Sta. Cruz property for the sum of P500,000.00.
Said letter was received by the bank on December 15, 1958
and having endorsed it to Mrs. Butte's counsel, the latter
received the same on December 16, 1958. Appellant
received the letter on December 19, 1958.
On January 15, 1959, Mrs. Angela M. Butte, thru Atty.
Resplandor Sobretodo, sent a letter and a Philippine
National Bank cashier's check in the amount of
P500,000.00 to Manuel Uy a l Son s, I nc. offe ri ng to red
eem share sold by Mrs. Marie Garnier Vda. de Ramirez.
This

529

VOL. 4, FEBRUARY 28, 1962 529

Butte vs. Manuel Uy & Sons, Inc.

tender having been refused, plaintiff on the same day

consigned the amount in court and filed the corresponding
action for legal redemption. Without prejudice to the
determination by the court of the reasonable and fair
market value of the property sold which she alleged to be
grossly excessive, plaintiff prayed for conveyance of the
property, and for actual, moral and exemplary damages.
After the filing by defendant of its answer containing a
counterclaim, and plaintiff's reply thereto, trial was held,
after which the court rendered decision on May 13, 1959,
dismissing plaintiff's complaint on the grounds that she
has no right to redeem the property and that, if ever she
had any, she exercised the same beyond the statutory 30-
day period for legal redemptions provided by the Civil
Code. The counterclaim of defendant for damages was
likewise dismissed for not being sufficiently established.
Both parties appealed directly to this Court.
Based on the foregoing facts, the main issues posed in
this appeal are: (1) whether or not plaintiff-appellant,
having been bequeathed 1/3 of the free portion of the estate
of José V. Ramirez, can exercise the right of legal
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redemption over the 1/6 share sold by Mrs. Marie Garnier

Vda. de Ramirez despite the presence of the judicial
administrator and pending the final distribution of her
share in the testate proceedings; and (2) whether or not she
exercised the right of legal redemption within the period
prescribed by law.
The applicable law involved in the present case is
contained in Articles 1620, p. 1, and 1623 of the Civil Code
of the Philippines, which read as follows:

"ART. 1620. A co-owner of a thing may exercise the right of

redemption in case the shares of all the other-co-owners or of any
of them, are sold to a third person. If the price of the alienation is
grossly excessive, the redemptioner shall pay only a reasonable
one.
Should two or more co-owners desire to exercise the right of
redemption, they may only do so in proportion to the share they
may respectively have in the thing owned in common. (1522a)
"ART. 1623. The right of legal predemption or redemption shall
not be exercised except within thirty days from the notice in
writing by the respective vendor, or by the vendor, as the

530

530 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED

Butte vs. Manuel Uy & Sons, Inc.

case may be. The deed of sale shall not be accorded in the Registry
of Property, unless accompanied by an affidavit of the vendor that
he has given written notice thereof at all possible redemptioners.
The right of redemption of co-owners excludes that of adjoining
owners. (1524a)"

That the appellant Angela M. Butte is entitled to exercise

the right of legal redemption is clear. As testamentary heir
of the estate of J. V. Ramirez, she and her coheirs acquired
an interest in the undivided one-sixth (1/6) share owned by
her predecessor (causante) in the Santa Cruz property,
from the moment of the death of the aforesaid co-owner, J.
V. Ramirez, By law, the rights to the succession of a
deceased person are transmitted to his heirs from the
moment of his death, and the right of succession includes
all property rights and obligations that survive the
decedent.

"ART. 776. The inheritance includes all the property, rights and
obligations of a person which are not extinguished by his death.
(659)"

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"ART. 777. The rights to the succession are transmitted from

the moment of the death of the decedent, (657a)"
"ART 947. The legatee or devisee acquires a right to the pure
and simple legacies or devisees from the death of the testator, and
transmits it to his heirs. (881a)"

The principle of transmission as of the time of the

predecessor's death is basic in our Civil Code, and is
supported by other related articles. Thus, the capacity of
the heir is determined as of the time the decedent died
(Art. 1034); the legitime is to be computed as of the same
moment (Art. 908), and so is the inofficiousness of the
donations inter vivos (Art. 771). Similarly, the legacies of
credit and remission are valid only in the amount due and
outstanding at the death of the testator (Art. 935), and the
fruits accruing after that instant are deemed to pertain to
the legatee (Art. 948).
As a consequence of this o f undament al r ul e of succes
the heirs of José V. Ramirez acquired his undivided share
in the Sta. Cruz property from the moment of his death,
and from that instant, they became co-owners in the
aforesaid property, together with the original surviving
coowners of their decedent (causante). A co-owner of an
531

VOL. 4, FEBRUARY 28, 1962 531

Butte vs. Manuel Uy & Sons, Inc.

undivided share is necessarily a co-owner of the whole.

Wherefore, any one of the Ramirez heirs, as such co-owner,
became entitled to exercise the right of legal redemption
(retracto de comuneros) a soon as another co-owner (Maria
Garnier Vda. de Ramirez) had sold her undivided share to
a stranger, Manuel Uy & Sons, Inc. This right of
redemption vested exclusively in consideration of the
redemptioner's share which the law nowhere takes into
account.
The situation is in no wise altered by the existence of a
judicial administrator of the estate of José V. Ramirez
while under the Rules of Court the administrator has the
right to the possession of the real and personal estate of the
deceased, so far as needed for the payment of the
decedent's debts and the expenses of administration (sec. 3,
Rule 85), and the administrator may bring or defend
actions for the recovery or protection of the property or
rights of the deceased (sec. 2, Rule 88), such rights of
possession and administration do not include the right of
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legal redemption of the undivided share sold to Uy &

Company by Mrs. Garnier Ramirez. The reason is obvious:
this right of legal redemption only came into existence
when the sale to Uy & Sons, Inc. was perfec ted, eig years
after the death of José V. Ramirez, and formed no part of
his estate. The redemption right vested in the heirs
originally, in their individual capacity, they did not
derivatively acquire it from their decedent, for when José
V. Ramirez died, none of the other co-owners of the Sta.
Cruz property had as yet sold his undivided share to a
stranger. Hence, there was nothing to redeem and no right
of redemption; and if the late Ramire z h ad no s uch r ig
his death, he could not transmit it to his own heirs. Much
less could Ramirez acquire such right of redemption eight
years after his death, when the sale to Uy & Sons, Inc. was
made; because death extinguishes civil personality, and,
therefore, all further juridical capacity to acquire or
transmit rights and obligations of any kind (Civil Code of
the Phil., Art. 42).
It is argued that the actual share of appellant Mrs.
Butte in the estate of Jose V. Ramirez has not been spe-
cifically determined as yet, that it is still contingent; and
532

532 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED

Butte vs. Manuel Uy & Sons, Inc.

that the liquidation of the estate -of José V. Ramirez may

require the alienation of the decedent's undivided portion
in the Sta. Cruz property, in which event Mrs. Butte would
have no interest in said undivided portion. Even if it were
true, the fact would remain that so long as that undivided
share remains in the estate, the heirs of José V. Ramirez
own it, as the deceased did own it before his demise, so that
his heirs are now as much co-owners of the Sta. Cruz
property as José V. Ramirez was himself a co-owner thereof
during his lifetime. As co-owners of the property, the heirs
of José V. Ramirez, or any one of them, became personally
vested with the right of legal redemption as soon as Mrs.
Garnier sold her own pro-indiviso interest to Uy & Sons.
Even if subsequentlly, the undivided share of Ramirez (and
of his heirs) should eventually be sold to satisfy the
creditors of the estate, it would not destroy their ownership
of it before the sale, but would only convey or transfer it as
in turn sold (of it actually is sold) to pay his creditors.
Hence, the right of any of the Ramirez heirs to redeem the
Garnier share will not be retroactively affected. All that the
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law requires is that the legal redemptioner should be a co-

owner at the time the undivided share of another co-owner
is sold to a stranger. Whether or not the redemptioner will
continue being a co-owner after exercising the legal
redemptioner is irrelevant for the purposes of the law.
Nor can it be argued that if the original share of
Ramirez is sold by the administrator, his heirs would stand
in law as never having acquired that share. This would
only be true if the inheritance is repudiated or the heir's
quality as such is voided. But where the heirship is
undisputed, the purchaser of hereditary property is not
deemed to have acquired the title directly from the
deceased Ramirez, because a dead man can not convey
title, nor from the administrator who owns no part of the
estate; the purchaser can only derive his title from the
Ramirez heirs, represented by the administrator, as their
trustee or legal representative.
The right of appellant Angela M. Butte to make the
redemption being established, the next point of inquiry is
whether she had made or tendered the redemption price
533

VOL. 4, FEBRUARY 28, 1962 533

Butte vs. Manuel Uy & Sons, Inc.

within the 30 days from notice as prescribed by law. This

period, be it noted, is peremptory, because the policy of the
law is not to leave the purchaser's title in uncertainty
beyond the established 30-day period.
In considering whether or not the offer to redeem was
timely, we think that the notice given by the vendee
(buyer) should not be taken into account. The text of Article
1623 clearly and expressly prescribes that the thirty days
for making the redemption are to be counted from notice in
writing by the vendor. Under the old law (Civ. Code of
1889, Art. 1524), it was immaterial who gave the notice; so
long as the redeeming co-owner learned of the alienation in
favor of the stranger, the redemption period began to run.
It is thus apparent that the Philippine legislature in Article
1623 deliberately selected a particular method of giving
notice, and that method must be deemed exclusive (39 Am.
Jur., 237; Payne vs. State, 12 S.W. [2d] 528). As ruled in
Wampler vs. Lecompte, 150 Atl. 458 (affd. in 75 Law Ed.
[U.S.] 275)—

"Why these provisions were inserted in the statute we are not

informed, but we may assume until the contrary is shown, that a

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state of facts in respect thereto existed, which warranted the

legislature in so legislating."

The reasons for requiring that the notice should be given

by the seller, and not by the buyer, are easily divined. The
seller of an undivided interest is in the best position to
know who are his co-owners that under the law must be
notified of the sale. Also, the notice by the seller removes
all doubts as to the fact of the sale, its perfection; and its
validity, the notice being a reaffirmation thereof, so that
the party notified need not entertain doubt that the seller
may still contest the alienation. This assurance would not
exist if the notice should be given by the buyer.
The notice which became operative is that given by Mrs.
Chambers, in her capacity as attorney-in-fact of the vendor
Marie Garnier Vda. de Ramirez. Under date of December
11, 1958, she wrote the Administrator Bank of the
Philippine Islands that her principal's one-sixth (1/6) share
in the Sta. Cruz property had been sold to Manuel Uy &
Sons, Inc. for P500,000.00. The Bank received this notice
on December 15, 1958 , a nd on the sam e day en

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Butte vs. Manuel Uy & Sons, Inc.

it to Mrs. Butte, care of Delgado, Flores and Macapagal

(her attorneys), who received the same on December 16,
1958. Mrs. Butte tendered redemption and upon the
vendee's refusal, judicially consigned the price of
P500,000.00 on January 15, 1959. The latter date was the
last one of the thirty days allowed by the Code for the
redemption, counted by excluding December 16, 1958 and
including January 15, 1959, pursuant to Article 13 of the
Civil Code. Therefore, the redemption was made in due
time.
The date of receipt of the vendor's notice by the
Administrator Bank (December 15) can not be counted as
determining the start of the thirty days; for the
Administrator of the estate was not a proper redemptioner,
since, as previously shown. the right to redeem the share of
Marie Garnier did not form part of the estate of Jose V.
Ramirez.
We find no justification for appellant's claim that the
P500,000.00 paid by Uy & Sons, Inc. for the Garnier share
is grossly excessive. Gross excess can not be predicated on

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mere individual estimates of market price by a single

realtor.
The redemption and consignation having been properly
made, the Uy counterclaim for damages and attorney's fees
predicated on the assumption that plaintiffs action was
clearly unfounded, becomes untenable.
PREMISES CONSIDERED, the judgment appealed
from is hereby reversed and set aside, and another one
entered:

(a) Declaring the consignation of P500,000.00 made by

appellant Angela M. Butte duly and properly made;
(b) Declaring that said appellant properly exercised in
due time the legal redemption of the one-sixth (1/6)
undivided portion of the land covered by Certificate
of Title No. 59363 of the Office of the Register of
Deeds of the City of Manila, sold on December 9,
1958 by Marie Garnier Vda. de Ramirez to
appellant Manuel Uy & Sons, Inc.
(c) Ordering appellant Manuel Uy & Sons, Inc.
toaccept the consigned price and to convey to
Angela M. Butte the undivided portion above-
referred to, within 30 days

535

VOL. 4, FEBRUARY 28, 1962 535

Rehabilitation Finance Corporation vs. Koh

from the time our decision becomes final, and

subsequently to account for the rentals and fruits of
the redeemed share from and after January 15,
1958, until its conveyance; and
(d) Ordering the return of the records to the court of
origin for further proceedings conformable to this
opinion.

Without finding as to costs.

     Bengzon, C.J. , Padilla, Bautista Angelo, Labrador,

Concepcion, Barrera and Dizon, JJ., concur.
     Paredes and De Leon, JJ., did not take part.

Judgment reversed and set as ide.

______________

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