Fule v.

Legare
Facts:
Emilia E. De Legare, was the owner of a parcel of land, together with a residential
house erected thereon at Sta. Mesa Blvd. Ext., as evidenced by TCT No. 21253. In the
evening of March 29, 1953, an intruder entered her home and at knife point, demanded for an
amount of P10,000.00. Emilia said she does not have the money and the intruder told her to
raise the said amount until he comes back the next day. When the intruder left, her adopted
son, John Legare told her to sign papers that would allow him to receive cash due to her from
the US Veterans Administration. Emilia, being unable to read and write except to sign her
name, signed the said papers as witnessed by her househelp Purita. It turned out that said
paper was a deed of sale of the lot and house in favor of John Legare for the sum of
P12,000.00, and that it was supposed to have been executed on the 7th day of April 1953,
and acknowledged before a notary public on that date.
John approached Elias Fermin, the real estate broker who intervened in the securing
of a prior loan contracted by Emilia from Tomas Q. Soriano, and sought said broker's help to
sell Emilia’s house and lot. Fermin offered the property to defendants Sps. Conrado Fule and
Lourdes Aragon. The spouses agreed to purchase the property for P12,000.00 on condition
that the sum of P7,000, the unpaid balance of Emilia's indebtedness to Tomas Q. Soriano
secured by a mortgage thereon, would be deducted from the price, and that Fule would
assume said mortgage.
After the terms were agreed upon, John caused to transfer Emilia’s Title to his name
by virtue of the purported Deed of Sale. After which, he executed a Deed of Sale in favor of
Sps. Fule and Aragon, which cancelled the transferred title to John and re-registered to their
names with the annotation for the deed of mortgage in favour of Soriano. Thereupon, the
spouses delivered the agreed amount minus the mortgage due to Soriano.
Upon discovery that Emilia’s house and lot had been sold to Sps. Fule and Aragon,
she filed for the cancellation of new titles based on her adopted son’s fraudulent acts. The trial
court ordered the cancellation of the new titles and making valid the title of Emilia de Legare.
CA affirmed said judgment by the lower court.
Issue:
W/N Sps. Fule and Aragon are innocent purchasers in good faith and for value of the
properties contested.
Ruling:
Yes, Sps. Fule and Aragon are innocent purchasers for value of the house and lot
here disputed and they are here adjudged the lawful owners thereof.
A purchaser in good faith is one who buys property of another, without notice that
some other person has a right to, or interest in, such property and pays a full and fair price for
the same, at the time of such purchase, or before he has notice of the claim or interest of
some other persons in the property. Good faith consists in an honest intention to abstain from
taking any unconscientious advantage of another.
In the instant case, nothing in John Legare's person or behaviour suggested anything
suspicious to cause further inquiry from Sps. Fule and Aragon. John was the adopted son of
Emilia, and, to the time that he was contracting with the spouses, he had not been known to
commit crime or dishonesty. On the contrary, John has had previous dealings with the real
estate broker during which he exhibited the expected degree of trustworthiness. The diligence
and precaution observed by the spouses could hardly be wanting.
Under Section 5 of Act 496, as amended, John's possession of the certificate and his
subsequent production of it to the herein petitioners operated as a "conclusive authority from
the registered owner to the register of deeds to enter a new certificate." The doctrine that
favour innocent purchasers for value in instances when such a fraudulent document may
become the root of a valid title applies in this case.