CIVIL LAW REVIEW 1 FINALS REVIEWER:I.CIVIL CODEII. FAMILY CODEIII. SUCCESSIONIV.PROPERTYA. Basic Concepts:a. Property vs. Thing:Property refers only to those which are or may be the object of appropriation;Thing refers to those which are not or may not be the object of appropriation.b. Characteristics of Property:1. According to its nature-Immovable/real or movable/personal2. According to its ownership-Of public dominion or of private ownershipB. Classification: 1. Immovable Property: (Art. 415)1. Lands, buildings, roads and constructions of all kinds adhered to the soil;2. Trees, plants, and growing fruits, while they are attached to the land or form an integral part of an immovable;3. Everything attached to an immovable in a fixed manner in such a way that it cannot be separated therefrom without breaking the material or deterioration of the object;4. Statues, reliefs, paintings, or other objects for use or ornamentation, placed in buildings or on lands by the owner of the immovable in such a manner that it reveals the intention to attach them permanently to the tenements;5. Machinery, receptacles, instruments, or implements intended by the owner of the tenement for an industry or works which may be carried on in a building or on a piece of land, and which tend directly to meet the needs of the said industry or works;6. Animal houses, pigeon houses, beehives, fishponds, or breeding places of similar nature, in case their owner has placed them or preserves them with the intention to have them permanently attached to the land and forming a permanent part of it; the animals in these places are included;7. Fertilizer actually used on a piece of land;8. Mines, quarries, and slag dumps, while the matter thereof forms part of the bed, and waters either running or stagnant;9. Docks and structures which, although floating, are intended by their nature and object to remain at a fixed place on the river, lake or coast;10. Contracts for public works, and servitudes and other real rights over immovable property. -Different classes of immovable: Immovables by nature Immovables by incorporation Immovables by destination Immovables by analogy 2. Movable Property: (Art.416-417)1. Those movables susceptible of appropriation which are not included in Art.215;2. Real property which by any special provision of law is considered as personalty;3. Forces of nature which are brought under control by science;4. In general, all things which can be transferred from place to place without impairment of the real property to which they are fixed.

5. Obligations and actions which have for their object movables or demandable sums;6. Shares of stock of agricultural, commercial, and industrial entities, although they may have real estate.

Test to determine WON object is movable or not: a. Whether object can be transported from place to place;b. Whether the change of location can take place without injury to the immovable to which it may be attached; andc. Whether it is not included in the enumeration found in Art.415 of the NCC.Classification of Movable according to its nature:a. Consumables- those which cannot be used in a manner appropriate to their nature without their being consumed;b. Non-consumables- those which can be used in a manner appropriate to their nature without their being consumed.c. Fungibles-those which can be substituted by others of the same kind or qualityd. Non-fungibles- cannot be substituted by others of the same kind and qualityCASES: When do machineries become immovables?Machinery which is movable in its nature only becomes immobilized when placed in a plant by the owner of the property or plant, but not when so placed by a tenant, a usufructuary, or any person having only a temporary right, unless such person acted as the agent of the owner. [Davao Saw Mill Co. vs. Castillo, 61 Phil., 709(1935)]Movable equipment, to be immobilized in contemplation of Article 415 of the Civil Code, must be the essential and principal elements of an industry or works which are carried on in a building or on a piece of land. Thus, where the business is one of transportation, which is carried on without a repair or service shop, and its rolling equipment is repaired or serviced in a shop belonging to another, the tools and equipment in its repair shop which appear movable are merely incidentals and may not be considered immovables, and, hence, not subject to assessment as real estate for purposes of the real estate tax. [Mindanao Bus Co. vs. City Assessor and Treasurer, 6 SCRA 197(1962)]Property by PUBLIC DOMINION: 1. Those intended for public use, such as roads, canals, torrents, ports, and bridges constructed by the State; banks shores, roadsteads, and others of similar character; ( Art.420[1])

2. Those which belong to the State, without being for public use, and are intended for some public service or for the development of the national wealth; ( Art.420 [2])

3. Property for public use, in the provinces, cities and municipalities, such as provincial roads, city streets, municipal streets, squares, fountains, public waters, promenades, and public works for public service paid for by said provinces, cities or municipalities. ( Art.424 [1])Characteristics of property of public dominion:1. Cannot be appropriated;2. Cannot be subject matter of contracts; so it cannot be alienated or encumbered;3. Cannot be acquired by prescription;4. Cannot be subject of attachment or execution;5. Cannot be burdened by any voluntary easement.Public Lands/public domain: Refer only to govt. lands which are opened to private appropriation and settlement by homestead & other similar acts as provided by law. Classes: 1. Agricultural2. Forest/timber3. Mineral lands4. National parksCASES:Property of public dominion withdrawn from public use becomes patrimonial property.Article 422 of the Civil Code expressly provides that Property of public dominion, when no longer intended for public use or for public service, shall form part of the patrimonial property of the State. Besides, the Revised Charter of the City of Cebu heretofore quoted, in very clear and unequivocal terms, states that: Property thus withdrawn from public servitude may be used or conveyed for any purpose for which other real property belonging to the City may be lawfully used or conveyed. [Cebu Oxygen & Acetylene Co., Inc. vs. Bercilles, 66 SCRA 481(1975)]Government owned lands, as long they are patrimonial property, can be sold to private parties, whether Filipino citizens or qualified private corporations. Thus, the so-called Friar Lands acquired by the government under Act No. 1120 are patrimonial property which even private corporations can acquire by purchase. [Chavez vs. Public Estates Authority, 403 SCRA 1(2003)]Since then and until now, the only way the government can sell to private parties, government reclaimed and marshy disposable lands of the public domain is for the legislature to pass a law authorizing such sale. CA No. 141 does not authorize the President to reclassify government reclaimed and marshy lands into other non-agricultural lands under Section 59 (d). Lands classified under Section 59 (d) are the only alienable or disposable lands for non-agricultural purposes that the government could sell to private parties. [Chavez vs. Public Estates Authority, 384 SCRA 152(2002)] A mechanism whereby the foreign-owned contractor, disqualified to own land, identifies to the government the specific surface areas within the FTAA contract area to be acquired for the mine infrastructure does not call for the exercise of the power of eminent domainand determination of just compensation is not an issueas much as it calls for a qualified party to acquire the surface rights on behalf of a foreign-owned contractor. [La Bugal-BLaan Tribal Association, Inc. vs. Ramos, 445 SCRA 1(2004)]Property is either of public dominion or of private ownership. Concomitantly, Article 420 of the Civil Code provides: ART. 420. The following things are property of public dominion: (1) Those intended for public use, such as roads, canals, rivers, torrents, ports and bridges constructed by the State, banks, shores, roadsteads, and others of similar character. [Usero vs. Court of Appeals, 449 SCRA 352(2005)]The phrase others of similar character includes a creek which is a recess or an arm of a river. It is property belonging to the public domain which is not susceptible to private ownership. Being public water, a creek cannot be registered under the Torrens System in the name of any individual. [Usero vs. Court of Appeals, 449 SCRA 352(2005)]The Regalian Doctrine dictates that all lands of the public domain belong to the State, that the State is the source of any asserted right to ownership of land and charged with the conservation of such patrimony, a doctrine consistently adopted under the 1935, 1973, and 1987 Constitutions; Prior to Proclamation No. 1064 of May 22, 2006, Boracay Island had never been expressly and administratively classified under any of the grand divisions of land. Boracay was an unclassified land of the public domain. [Secretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources vs. Yap, 568 SCRA 164(2008)]III. OWNERSHIP:The independent right of exclusive enjoyment and control of a thing for the purpose of deriving therefrom all advantages required by the reasonable needs of the owner and the promotion of the general welfare BUT subject to the restrictions imposed by law and the rights of others. Traditional Attributes/Elements of Ownership: 1. Right to enjoy Jus utendi ( right to use) Jus fruendi ( right to enjoy the fruits) Jus abutendi ( right to consume the thing by its use2. Right to dispose- alienate, destroy, encumber, transform property3. Right to vindicateLimitations upon the right of ownership:1. General limitations imposed by State for its benefit ( 3 powers)2. Specific limitations imposed by law, such as legal servitudes;3. Limitations imposed by party transmitting the property either by contract or by will;4. Limitations imposed by the owner himself, such voluntary servitudes, mortgages, pledges and lease rights;5. Inherent limitations arising from conflict with other rights, such as those caused by contiguity of property.CASES: In keeping with the presumption of State ownership, there must be a positive act of the government, such as an official proclamation, declassifying inalienable public land into disposable land for agricultural or other purposes; The burden of proof in overcoming the presumption of State ownership of the lands of the public domain is on the person applying for registration (or claiming ownership), who must prove that the land subject of the application is alienable or disposable.A positive act declaring land as alienable and disposable is required.Since 1919, courts were no longer free to determine the classification of lands from the facts of each case, except those that have already became private landsAct No. 2874, promulgated in 1919 and reproduced in Section 6 of CA No. 141, gave the Executive Department, through the President, the exclusive prerogative to classify or reclassify public lands into alienable or disposable, mineral or forestApplying PD No. 705, all unclassified lands, including those in Boracay Island, are ipso facto considered public forests. [Secretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources vs. Yap, 568 SCRA 164(2008)]

Rights of a Person over his Property: 1. to enjoy the property;2. to dispose of it;3. to recover the property from any holder or possessor;4. to exclude any person from the enjoyment and disposal of the property;5. to enclose or fence his land or tenement;6. to just compensation in case of eminent domain;7. to construct any works, or make any plantation or excavation on the its surface or sub-surface;8. to the ownership of all accessions to his property. CASES:Under existing law and jurisprudence, there are three kinds of actions available to recover possession of real property: (a) accion interdictal; (b) accion publiciana; and (c) accion reivindicatoria. Accion interdictal comprises two distinct causes of action, namely, forcible entry (detentacion) and unlawful detainer (desahuico). In forcible entry one is deprived of physical possession of real property by means of force, intimidation, strategy, threats, or stealth whereas in unlawful detainer, one illegally withholds possession after the expiration or termination of his right to hold possession under any contract, express or implied. The two are distinguished from each other in that in forcible entry, the possession of the defendant is illegal from the beginning, and that the issue is which party has prior de facto possession while in unlawful detainer, possession of the defendant is originally legal but became illegal due to the expiration or termination of the right to possess. The jurisdiction of these two actions, which are summary in nature, lies in the proper municipal trial court or metropolitan trial court. Both actions must be brought within one year from the date of actual entry on the land, in case of forcible entry, and from the date of last demand, in case of unlawful detainer.The issue in said cases is the right to physical possession.

Accion publiciana is the plenary action to recover the right of possession which should be brought in the proper regional trial court when dispossession has lasted for more than one year. [Valdez, Jr. vs. Court of Appeals, 489 SCRA 369(2006The issue involved in accion reivindicatoria is the recovery of ownership of real property. This differs from accion publiciana where the issue is the better right of possession or possession de jure, and accion interdictal where the issue is material possession or possession de facto. In an action for unlawful detainer, the question of possession is primordial while the issue of ownership is generally unessential. [Ross Rica Sales Center, Inc. vs. Ong, 467 SCRA 35(2005)]On this point, the Court held in Bongato v. Malvar that: It is wise to be reminded that forcible entry is a quieting process, and that the restrictive time bar is prescribed to complement the summary nature of such process. Indeed, the one-year period within which to bring an action for forcible entry is generally counted from the date of actual entry to the land. However, when entry is made through stealth, then the one-year period is counted from the time the plaintiff learned about it. After the lapse of the one-year period, the party dispossessed of a parcel of land may file either an accion publiciana, which is a plenary action to recover the right of possession; or an accion reivindicatoria, which is an action to recover ownership as well as possession. [Peralta-Labrador vs. Bugarin, 468 SCRA 308(2005)]Adjoining landowners have mutual and reciprocal duties which require that each must use his own land in a reasonable manner so as not to infringe upon the rights and interests of others.It must be stressed that the use of ones property is not without limitations. Article 431 of the Civil Code provides that the owner of a thing cannot make use thereof in such a manner as to injure the rights of a third person. SIC UTERE TUO UT ALIENUM NON LAEDAS. [Andamo vs. Intermediate Appellate Court, 191 SCRA 195(1990)]Force of Defense ( doctrine of self-help): Art. 429Justified if: Force must be employed by the owner or the lawful possessor of the property; There must be an actual or threatened physical invasion or usurpation of the property; Invasion or usurpation must be unlawful; Force employed must be reasonably necessary to repel the invasion or usurpation. Hidden Treasure: Ownership of hidden Treasure: Art. 438Hidden treasure belongs to the owner of the land, building or property on which it is found;Nevertheless,, when the discovery is made on the property of ANOTHER or the State or any of its subdivisions, AND by chance, thereof shall be allowed to the finder. IF the finder is a trespasser, he shall not be entitled to any share of the treasure. If the things found be of interest to SCIENCE or the ARTS, the State may acquire them at a just price, which shall be divided with the rule stated.

Requisites if finder is STRANGER on anothers property: 1.The treasure must consist of money, jewelry, or other precious objects;2.It must be hidden or unknown;3.Its lawful ownership does not appear;4.Its discovery must be by chance;5.Discoverer must be a stranger and not a trespasser.ACCESSIONThe right pertaining to the owner of a thing over everything which is produced thereby, or which is incorporated or attached thereto, either naturally or artificially. (Art.440)Different Kinds of Accession:1. Accession Discreta- Right to ownership over a thing and everything which is produced thereby. a. Natural fruits , spontaneous products of the soil, young and other products of animals;b. Industrial fruits, those produced by cultivation or labor;c. Civil fruits, rent, leases, amount of perpetual annuities or other similar income. 2. Accession Continua- Right pertaining to ownership of a thing over everything which is incorporated or attached thereto, either naturally or artificially. a. Immovable prop:i. Accession industrial- building, planting or sowingii. Accession natural1. Alluvion- accretion which the lands adjoining rivers, lakes, creeks, or torrents GRADUALLY RECEIVE from the effects of the currents of the waters. 2. Avulsion- Accretion which takes place whenever the current of a river, lake, creek or torrent SEGREGATES from an estate on its bank a known portion of land and TRANSFERS it to another estate.3. Change of river beds 4. Formation of islands either on the seas within the jurisdiction of the Phils, on lakes, and on navigable/floatable rivers or non-navi/non-floatable rivers. b. Movable prop: i. Adjunction or conjunction- different objects belonging to different owners are united and cant be separated without injuryii. Commixtion/ Confusion- Different owners too. Mixture of solids: Commixtion; Mixture of liquids: Confusioniii. Specification- takes place whenever a person imparts a new form to materials belonging to another personAnimal OffspringDifferent Owners:a) Offspring belongs to owner of female. XPNs to Rule of Accession Discreta:1. If thing is with possessor in GF, possessor is entitled to the fruits;2. If subject to usufruct, usufructuary is entitled to the fruits;3. If thing is leased, lessee is entitled to fruits of thing, but he must pay rentals;4. If in possession of antichretic creditor, creditor is entitled to fruits with the obligation of applying them to interest and principal. Basic Prinicples in Accession Continua:1. To the owner of the thing belongs the extension or increase of the thing;2. General rule is Accession follows the Principal;3. This takes effect only when the two things are so united that they cannot be separated without injuring or destroying the juridical nature of one of them;4. As a general rule, punitive liability attaches to the party who acts in BF, but not to party who acts in GF.GOOD/BAD FAITH: b) As applied to Builder, Planter or Sower: GF consists in IGNORANCE of the ownership of another; BAD FAITH is when knowledge of such ownership exists.c) Owner of land/ materials:Ignorance of acts of B,P, S; or if aware, there was opposition on his part; BF if he had knowledge and no opposition on his part.

Outline of ACCESSION INDUSTRIAL:

d) Art.447: The owner of the land who makes thereon, personally of through another, plantings, constructions, or works WITH THE MATERIALS OF ANOTHER, shall pay their value; and if he acted in BF, he shall also be obliged to the reparation of damages.The OWNER OF MATERIALS shall have the right to remove them only in case he can do so without injury to the work constructed, or without the plantings, construction or works being destroyed.However, if the LANDOWNER acted in BF, the owner of materials may remove them in any event, with a right to be indemnified for damages.

a) Owner/Builder- GF; OMat-GF: OB has right of appropriation OMAT has right of reimbursement for materials OMAT has limited right of removal

b) OB-BF; OMAT-GF: OB has no right; obligated to pay damages OMAT has right of reimbursement for materials + damages OMAT has absolute right of removal + damagesArt.448: The owner of the land on which anything has been built, sown or planted in GF, shall have the right to appropriate as his own the work, sowing, or planting, after payment of the indemnity provided for in Arts. 546(necessary expenses) and 548 (luxury expenses not covered but may remove ornaments), or to OBLIGE the one who built or planted to pay the price of the land, and the one who sowed, the proper rent.However, the BUILDER or PLANTER cannot be obliged to buy the land IF its value is CONSIDERABLY MORE than that of the building or the trees.In such case, he shall pay reasonable rent, if the OWNER OF THE LAND does not choose to appropriate the building or trees after proper indemnity.The parties shall agree upon the terms of the lease and in case of disagreement, the court shall fix the terms thereof. a) OL-GF; Builder and OMAT-GF: OL has right of appropriation and right to demand price of land or rent; B and OMAT has right to reimbursement of necessary expenses if OL elects right to appropriate; B and OMAT has right of retention if OL elects appropriation. Art. 449:He who builds, plants or sows in BF on the land of another, LOSES what is built, planted or sown WITHOUT right to indemnity.Art. 450:The OWNER OF THE LAND on which anything has been built, planted or sown in BF may demand the demolition of the work, or that the planting or sowing be removed, in order to replace things in their former condition AT THE EXPENSE of the person who built, planted or sowed; OR he may COMPEL the builder to PAY the price of the land, and the sower the proper RENT. Art. 451: In the cases of the two preceding articles, the LANDOWNER is ENTITLED to DAMAGES from the builder, planter or sower. Art. 452:The BUILDER, PLANTER, or SOWER in BF is entitled to NECESSARY EXPENSES of preservation of the land. Art. 453: (Both parties in BF)If there was BF, not only on the part of the person who BUILT, PLANTED or SOWED on the land of another, but also on the part of the owner of such land, the rights of one and the other shall be the same as though both had acted in GF. It is understood that there is BF on the part of the LANDOWNER whenever the act was done with knowledge and without opposition on his part. Art. 454: When the LANDOWNER acted in BF, and the Builder, Planter, or Sower acted in GF, the provisions of Article 447 shall apply. Art. 455: If the materials, plants or seeds belong to a THIRD PERSON, who has not acted in BF, the OWNER of the LAND shall answer subsidiarily for their value and only in the event that the one who made use of them has no property with which to pay. This provision shall not apply if the owner makes use of the right granted in Article 450 (demand demolition or compel payment of land or rent. If the OWNER of the MATERIALS has been paid by the Builder, sower or planter, the latter may demand from the landowner the value of the materials or labor. Art. 456: In the case regulated in the preceding articles, GF does not necessarily exclude negligence, which gives right to damages under Article 2716. CASES: Where, as in the present case, the builder in good faith fails to pay the value of the land when such is demanded by the landowner, the parties may resort to the following remedies: (1) The parties may decide to leave things as they are and assume the relation of lessor and lessee, and should they disagree as to the amount of rental, then they can go to the court to fix that amount (Miranda vs. Fadullon, -et al., 51 Off. Gaz., 6226); (2) Should the parties not agree to assume the relation of lessor and lessee, the owner of the land is entitled to have the improvement removed (Ignacio vs. Hilario, 76 Phil., 605); and (3) The land and the improvement may be sold at public auction, applying the proceeds thereof first to the payment of the value of the land and the excess, if any, to be delivered to the owner of the improvement in payment thereof (Bernardo vs. Bataclan, 66 Phil., 590). [Filipinas Colleges, Inc. vs. Garcia Timbang, et al., 106 Phil. 247(1959)] Violation of the Contract of Sale on Installment may not be the basis to negate the presumption that Kee was a builder in good faith.Such violations have no bearing whatsoever on whether Kee was a builder in good faith, that is, on his state of mind at the time he built the improvements on Lot 9. [Pleasantville Development Corporation vs. Court of Appeals, 253 SCRA 10(1996)]The essence of good faith lies in an honest belief in the validity of ones right, ignorance of a superior claim, and absence of intension to overreach another. Applied to possession, one is considered in good faith if he is not aware that there exists in his title or mode of acquisition any flaw which invalidates it. [Heirs of the Late Joaquin Limense vs. Vda. De Ramos, 604 SCRA 599(2009)]