METROPOLITAN WATERWORKS AND SEWERAGE SYSTEMS, vs. THE COURT OF APPEALS, JOSE P. SAMONTE, ET. AL..
- G.R. Number: G.R. No. 103558
- Promulgated: 1992-11-17
- Ponente: Campos, J.
Doctrine
A certificate of title is not conclusive evidence of ownership if it is shown that the same land had already been registered and an earlier certificate exists; a later registration is null and void.
Facts
This is a petition for review on certiorari seeking to annul the Court of Appeals decision that affirmed the RTC's declaration voiding TCT No. 41028 and ordering its cancellation.
The RTC and Court of Appeals judgments declared plaintiff's TCT No. 15167 valid and defendant's TCT No. 41028 void, ordering the Register of Deeds of Caloocan City to cancel TCT No. 41028.
Record shows the land had been registered earlier under OCT No. 994 dated 19 April 1917, rendering a subsequent registration on 3 May 1917 null and void.
Issues
Whether the petitioner-defendant-appellant has a better claim of ownership over the questioned property than that of the plaintiffs-appellees and respondent intervenor-appellee, considering the earlier registration in 1940 against the 1978 title.
Whether defendant-appellant's title is valid and therefore the titles of the plaintiffs and intervenor-appellees are void.
Ruling
The Court affirmed the decision of the Court of Appeals in toto, effectively upholding the RTC judgment declaring plaintiffs' TCT No. 15167 valid and defendant's TCT No. 41028 void and ordering its cancellation.
Keywords
G.R. No. 103558, petition for review on certiorari, CA-G.R. C. V. No. 18671, affirmance of decision, Transfer Certificate of Title, TCT No. 41028, TCT No. C-15167, Lot 28 of the Maysilo Estate, OCT No. 994, Deed of Transfer and Conveyance, action for partition and accounting, Civil Case No. C-424, Special Proceedings No. 732, Deed of Absolute Sale, ejectment case, final and executory judgment, complaint for quieting of title with damages and prayer for preliminary injunction, writ of injunction, overlapping titles, Cadastral Survey of Kaloocan City, Cadastral Case No. 34