G.R. No. L-11872, 1 December 1917

FACTS:

The case was about the contract made by Luis Espiritu (father of Jose Espiritu, the defendant) and the heirs of his sister Margarita Mercado; Domingo and Josepha Mercado, who pretended to be of legal age to give their consent into the contract of sale of the land they inherited from their deceased mother Margarita Mercado (sister of Luis Mercado). The siblings Domingo et. al., sought for the annulment of contract asserting that Domingo and Josepha were minors during the perfection of contract.

ISSUE:

Whether or not the deed of sale is valid, when the minors presented themselves of legal age, at the time of the perfection of the contract.

RULING:

The court declared that the contract of sale was VALID, even if it were made and entered into by minors, who pretended to be of legal age.

Whenever a party has, by its own declaration, act or omission, intentionally and deliberately led another party to believe a particular thing to be true, and to act upon such belief, he cannot, in any litigation arising out of such declaration, cannot be permitted to falsify it. Furthermore, the sale of real estate made by a minor who pretend to be of legal age, when in fact he is not, is VALID, and he will not be permitted to excuse himself from the fulfillment of the obligations contracted by him or to have it annulled. The judgment that holds such sale to be valid and absolves the purchaser from the complaint filed against him does not violate the laws relative to the sale of minor’s property, nor the judicial rules established in consonance therewith.

In the given case, annulment of the sale cannot be invoked on the ground of minority, since at the time of the perfection of the contract; Domingo and Josefa presented themselves to be of legal age.

* Case digest by Aisha Mie Faith M. Fernandez,  LLB-1, Andres Bonifacio Law School, SY 2017-2018