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Alonzo v. Intcrmcdlatc Appellatc Court
rm scRA 269
May 28, 1987
Ctttz, J.

Facts: The only real question ln tttlscase ls the cor-

rect lnterpretatlon and appltcaUon of the pertlnent law as
tnvoked, tnterestlngly enough, by both the peUtloners and
the prlvate lsspondents. Thts Artlcle 1088
ts of t}te Clvil
Code, provldlr,g as follows:

'Art. 1088. Should any of the helrs sell hls he-

redltary rtghts to a stranger before the pfiltlon. any
or all of the co-helrs may be subrogated to the rlghts
of the purchaser by retmbursrng hlm for the prtce of
the sale, provlded they do so wlthln the perlod of one
month from the tlme they were noUJled tn wrltlng of
the sale bY the vendor."
Held: The peutton before us apPears to be an lllus-
traUon of the Holmes dlctum that 'hard cases make bad
laws' as the pettttoners obvlously cannot argue agalnst the
fact that there was really no wrltten notlce glven by the
vendors to thelr co-helrs. Strlctly applled and tnterpreted'
Artlcle lO88 can lead to only one concluslon. to wlt. that
ln vlew of such de{lclency, the 3o-day perlod for redemp-
llon had not begun to run, much less expired ln L977.
But as has also been aptly observed. we test a law by
its results: and ltkewtse, we may add. by lts purposes. It ls
a cardtnal rule ttrat. fn seeldng the meantng of the law' ttre
flrst concern of the Judge should be to dlscover ln lts
provlslon the lntent of the lawmaker. Unquestlonably, the
law should never be lnterpreted in such a way as to cause
inJusttce as thls ls never wlthin the leglslatlve tntent. An
indlspensable part of that lntent, ln fact, for we presume
the good moflves of the leglslature, ls to renderJustlce.
As Judges, we are not automatons. We do not and
must not unfeellngly apply the law as lt ls worded, yleldtng
Itke robots to the llteral,,comrnand wlthout regard to lts
cause and consequence.'Courts are apt to err by stlcldng
too closely to the words of a lawJ so we are wamed, by
Justlce Holmes agatn, \rrhere these words tmport a poltcy
that goes beyond them.-
ln the face of the establlshed facts. we cannot accept
the prlvate respondents' pretense that they were unaware
of the sales made by thetr brother and slster tn 1963 and
f964. Such actual notlce as acqulred by the co-helrs
cannot be plaustbly denled. The prlvate respondents llved
on the same lot tncludtng the porUons sold to peutloners.
The petltloners' son erected a seml-concrete structure
wlthout obJectlon from the prtvate respondents.
By requirtng wrltten proof of such noUce, we would
be clostng our eyes to the obvlous truttr tn favor of their
palpably false clalm of tgnorance. thus exaltlng the letter
of the law over tts purpose. The purpose ls clear enough:
to make sure that the redempUoners are duly notlfled. We
are sattslled that ln thls case the otlter brothers and
slsters were actually lnformed. although not ln wnUng, of
the sales made ln 1963 and 1964, and ttrat such notlce
was sufllclent.