Leodegario Azarraga Vs. Maria Gay

LEODEGARIO AZARRAGA vs. MARIA GAY Facts: By a public document, the plaintiff sold two parcels of lands to the defendant for the lump sum of P47,000, payable in installments with the conditions of payment of P5,000 at the time of the signing of the contract, P20,000 upon delivery of the Torrens title to the first parcel described in the Deed of Sale, P10,000 upon the delivery of the Torrens title to the second parcel, and the sum of P12,000 one year after the delivery of the Torrens title to the second parcel. Vendee complied with the first two payment conditions but failed to pay the remaining P10,000 during the delivery of the second parcel and the P12, 000 hence the filing of the compliant by the plaintiff for the collection money with legal interest from the month of April 1921 and 1922 until full payment of the amounts claimed. Defendants admit the aforementioned circumstances but alleges that the plaintiff misrepresented the second parcel of land to have 98 hectares when in fact in only had 60 hectare, that the defendant, other than the above-mentioned sums, also paid the amount of P4,000 and that the defendants never refused to pay the reduced price but was instead refused to be received by the plaintiff. The trial court ruled in favor of the plaintiff finding no importance given by the parties to the area of land but only agreed as to the lump sum of P47,000 as the purchase price for the subject parcels of land. Having denied their motion for a new trial, the case was brought before the Supreme Court.

ISSUE:WON APPELLANT INDUCED THE DEFENDANT BY DECEIT TO PAY THE STIPULATED PRICE FOR THE TWO PARCELS OF LAND, STATING FALSELY IN THE DEED OF SALE THAT THE SECOND PARCEL OF LAND MEASURES 98 HECTARES DESPITE KNOWING THAT IT IS ONLY 60 HECTARES.

Ruling: Defendant’s contention is devoid of merit. It appears of record that before the execution of the contract Exhibit A, the defendant went over the plaintiff's land and made her own calculations as to the area of said two parcels. Moreover, the plaintiff delivered to the defendant the documents covering the land he was trying to sell. As to the first parcel there is no question whatever and the defendant's contention is limited solely to the actual area of the second parcel. The defendant had document Exhibit 4 in her possession which is the deed by which the plaintiff acquired the land from the original owner, Crispulo Beramo, in which document it appears that the area of the second parcel is about 70 hectares. It was the defendant who intrusted the drawing of the deed of sale Exhibit A to her attorney and notary, Hontiveros, and it is to be presumed that both she and the lawyer who drew the document Exhibit A, had read the contents of the document Exhibit 4. The plaintiff declares that he signed the document between 5 and 7 in the afternoon of that day and he did not pay any attention to the area of the second parcel, probably in the belief that in the drawing of the document the data concerning the area of the land had been taken from the said Exhibit 4. The defendant testified that she received from the plaintiff a note or piece of paper containing the data to be inserted in the contract Exhibit A. The plaintiff denies this and said note or piece of paper was not presented at the trial. We are of opinion that this testimony of the defendant's is unimportant, because, in reality, if the plaintiff had delivered Exhibit 4 to the defendant, there

was no need to deliver to her another note to indicate the area of the second which already appeared in the said Exhibit 4. The law allows considerable latitude to seller's statements, or dealer's talk; and experience teaches that it as exceedingly risky to accept it at its face value. Assertions concerning the property which is the subject of a contract of sale, or in regard to its qualities and characteristics, are the usual and ordinary means used by sellers to obtain a high price and are always understood as affording to buyers no ground from omitting to make inquires. A man who relies upon such an affirmation made by a person whose interest might so readily prompt him to exaggerate the value of his property does so at his peril, and must take the consequences of his own imprudence. The defendant had ample opportunity to appraise herself of the condition of the land which she purchased, and the plaintiff did nothing to prevent her from making such investigation as she deemed fit, and when the purchaser proceeds to make investigations by himself, and the vendor does nothing to prevent such investigation from being as complete as the former might wish, the purchaser cannot later allege that the vendor made false representations to him.

ISSUE: WON THE TRIAL COURT ERRED IN FAILING TO ORDER THE REDUCTION OF THE PRIVCE DUE ON THE SECOND PARCEL OF LAND. Ruling: ART. 1471 provides that in case of the sale of real estate for a lump sum and not at the rate of a specified price for each unit of measure, there shall be no increase or decrease of the price even if the area be found to be more or less than that stated in the contract. The same rule shall apply when two or more estates are sold for a single price; but, if in addition to a statement of the boundaries, which is indispensable in every conveyance of real estate, the area of the estate should be designated in the contract, the vendor shall be obliged to deliver all that is included with such boundaries, even should it exceed the area specified in the contract; and, should he not be able to do so, he shall suffer a reduction of the price in proportion to what is lacking of the area, unless the contract be annulled by reason of the vendee's refusal to accept anything other than that which was stipulated. Where everything included within the boundaries is delivered there can be no increase or decrease in price, no matter whether the area be more or less than that given in the contract. From this a very important consequence follows, to wit: That if the vendor is bound to deliver a determinate object, he is bound to deliver all of it, that is, everything within its boundaries, in the contract, and that from the moment he fails to do so, either because he cannot, or because, ignoring the meaning of the contract, he alleges that it contains a greater area than that stipulated, the contract is partially unfulfilled and it is but just the certain actions be available to the vendee for the protection of his right. In this case, the rule formulated for the second paragraph or article 1471 is inapplicable in the instant case inasmuch as all the land included within the boundaries of the two parcels sold has been delivered in its entirety to the vendee. There is no division of the land enclosed within the boundaries of the properties sold; the determinate object which is the subject matter of the contract has been delivered by the vendor in its entirety as he obligates himself to do. Therefore, there is no right to complain either on the part of the vendor, even if there be a greater area than that stated in the deed, or on the part of the vendee, though the area of the second parcel be really much smaller.