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BASIC CONCEPTS in CIVIL LAW

A. LEGAL PERSONALITY

NCC Article 40. Birth determines personality; but the conceived child

shall be considered born for all purposes that are favorable to it,
provided it be born later with the conditions specified in the following
article.

NCC Article 41. For civil purposes, the foetus is considered born if it is

alive at the time it is completely delivered from the mother's womb.
However, if the foetus had an intra-uterine life of less than seven
months, it is not deemed born if it dies within twenty-four hours after
its complete delivery from the maternal womb.

B. MARITAL RELATIONS

Requisites of a valid Marriage

(1) Legal capacity of the contracting parties who must be a male and
a female; and
(2) Consent

(3) Authority of the solemnizing officer;

(4) A valid marriage license except in the cases provided for in
Chapter 2 of this Title

Recognition of Foreign Divorce Decree

Where a marriage between a Filipino citizen and a foreigner is validly

celebrated and a divorce is thereafter validly obtained abroad by the alien
spouse capacitating him or her to remarry, the Filipino spouse shall have
capacity to remarry under Philippine law. 

Abel v. Rule, G.R. No. 234457, [May 12, 2021] (Per J. Leonen)

In a foreign divorce between a Filipino and an alien, it is immaterial

which spouse initiated the divorce proceedings abroad in light of the
fundamental equality of women and men before the law. Once a divorce
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decree is issued by a competent foreign court, the alien spouse is deemed

to have obtained the divorce as required in Article 26 (2) of the Family
Code.

Marriage License Exemption

FC Article 34. No license shall be necessary for the marriage of a man

and a woman who have lived together as husband and wife for at least
five years and without any legal impediment to marry each other. xxx

Void Marriages

Art. 35. The following marriages shall be void from the beginning:

(1) Those contracted by any party below eighteen years of age even with
the consent of parents or guardians;
(2) Those solemnized by any person not legally authorized to perform
marriages unless such marriages were contracted with either or both
parties believing in good faith that the solemnizing officer had the legal
authority to do so;
(3) Those solemnized without license, except those covered the preceding
Chapter;
(4) Those bigamous or polygamous marriages not failing under Article 41;
(5) Those contracted through mistake of one contracting party as to the
identity of the other; and
(6) Those subsequent marriages that are void under Article 53.

Art. 36. A marriage contracted by any party who, at the time of the
celebration, was psychologically incapacitated to comply with the
essential marital obligations of marriage, shall likewise be void even if such
incapacity becomes manifest only after its solemnization.

Art. 37. Marriages between the following are incestuous and void from the
beginning, whether relationship between the parties be legitimate or
illegitimate:

(1) Between ascendants and descendants of any degree; and

(2) Between brothers and sisters, whether of the full or half blood.

Art. 38. The following marriages shall be void from the beginning for
reasons of public policy:
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(1) Between collateral blood relatives whether legitimate or illegitimate, up

to the fourth civil degree;
(2) Between step-parents and step-children;
(3) Between parents-in-law and children-in-law;
(4) Between the adopting parent and the adopted child;
(5) Between the surviving spouse of the adopting parent and the adopted
child;
(6) Between the surviving spouse of the adopted child and the adopter;
(7) Between an adopted child and a legitimate child of the adopter;
(8) Between adopted children of the same adopter; and
(9) Between parties where one, with the intention to marry the other, killed
that other person's spouse, or his or her own spouse.

Psychological Incapacity

Tan-Andal v. Andal, G.R. No. 196359, [May 11, 2021] (Per J. Leonen)

A party to a nullity case is still required to prove juridical antecedence

because it is an explicit requirement of the law. Article 36 is clear that the
psychological incapacity must be existing “at the time of the celebration” of
the marriage, “even if such incapacity becomes manifest only after its
solemnization.”

Psychological incapacity contemplated in Article 36 of the Family Code is

incurable, not in the medical, but in the legal sense. This means that
the incapacity is so enduring and persistent with respect to a specific
partner, and contemplates a situation where the couple's respective
personality structures are so incompatible and antagonistic that the only
result of the union would be the inevitable and irreparable breakdown of
the marriage.

Gravity must be established not in the sense that the psychological

incapacity must be shown to be a serious or dangerous illness, but that
"mild characterological peculiarities, mood changes, occasional
emotional outbursts" are excluded.

The essential marital obligations are "those embraced by Articles 68 up to

71 of the Family Code as regards the husband and wife as well as Articles
220, 221, and 225 of the same Code in regard to parents and their
children.
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Psychological incapacity must be proved by clear and convincing

evidence

The personal examination of the allegedly psychologically

incapacitated spouse is "not [required] for a declaration of [nullity of
marriage due to] psychological incapacity." So long as the totality of
evidence sufficiently proves the psychological incapacity of one or both of
the spouses, a decree of nullity of marriage may be issued.

Declaration of Nullity of Marriage

FC Article 40. The absolute nullity of a previous marriage may be invoked

for purposes of remarriage on the basis solely of a final judgment declaring
such previous marriage void. (n)

David v. Calilung, G.R. No. 241036, [January 26, 2021] (J. delos
Santos)

A.M. No. 02-11-10-SC explicitly provides that a petition for

declaration of absolute nullity of void marriage may be filed solely by the
husband or wife.

Pulido v. People, G.R. No. 220149, [July 27, 2021] (Per J. Hernando)

Article 40 has retroactive application on marriages contracted prior

to the effectivity of the Family Code but only for the purpose of
remarriage, as the parties are not permitted to judge for themselves the
nullity of their marriage. In other words, in order to remarry, a judicial
declaration of nullity is required for prior marriages contracted before
the effectivity of the Family Code. Without a judicial declaration of
absolute nullity of the first marriage having been obtained, the second
marriage is rendered void ab initio even though the first marriage is also
considered void ab initio.

However, in a criminal prosecution for bigamy, the parties may

still raise the defense of a void ab initio marriage even without obtaining a
judicial declaration of absolute nullity:

Presumptive Death
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Requisites for a declaration of presumptive death for the purpose of

remarriage:

(1) The absent spouse has been missing for four consecutive years, or
two consecutive years if the disappearance occurred where there is
danger of death under the circumstances laid down in Article 391, Civil
Code;
(2) The present spouse wishes to remarry;
(3) The present spouse has a well-founded belief that the absentee is
dead; and
(4) The present spouse files a summary proceeding for the declaration of
presumptive death of the absentee

Voidable Marriages

Grounds Personality to Sue and

(1) That the party in whose behalf it
is sought to have the marriage
annulled was eighteen years of
age or over but below twenty-
one, and the marriage was
solemnized without the consent
of the parents, guardian or
person having substitute
parental authority over the
party, in that order, unless after
attaining the age of twenty-one,
such party freely cohabited with
the other and both lived
together as husband and wife;
(2) That either party was of
unsound mind, unless such
party after coming to reason,
freely cohabited with the other
as husband and wife;
Prescriptive Period
by the party whose parent or
guardian did not give his or her
consent, within five years after
attaining the age of twenty-
one,
or by the parent or guardian or
person having legal charge of
the minor, at any time before
such party has reached the
age of twenty-one;
by the same spouse, who had
no knowledge of the other's
insanity; or
by any relative or guardian or
person having legal charge of
the insane,

at any time before the death of

either party, or by the insane
spouse during a lucid interval
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or after regaining sanity;

(3) That the consent of either party by the injured party, within five
was obtained by fraud, unless years after the discovery of
such party afterwards, with full the fraud
knowledge of the facts
constituting the fraud, freely
cohabited with the other as
husband and wife;
(4) That the consent of either party by the injured party, within five
was obtained by force, years from the time the force,
intimidation or undue influence, intimidation or undue
unless the same having influence disappeared or
disappeared or ceased, such ceased;
party thereafter freely cohabited
with the other as husband and
wife;
(5) That either party was physically by the injured party, within five
incapable of consummating the years after the marriage.
marriage with the other, and
such incapacity continues and
appears to be incurable; or
(6) That either party was afflicted by the injured party, within five
with a sexually-transmissible years after the marriage.
disease found to be serious and
appears to be incurable.

Fraud as Ground for Annulment

Any of the following circumstances shall constitute fraud:

(1) Non-disclosure of a previous conviction by final judgment of the other

party of a crime involving moral turpitude;

(2) Concealment by the wife of the fact that at the time of the marriage, she
was pregnant by a man other than her husband;

(3) Concealment of sexually transmissible disease, regardless of its nature,

existing at the time of the marriage; or

(4) Concealment of drug addiction, habitual alcoholism or homosexuality or

lesbianism existing at the time of the marriage.
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No other misrepresentation or deceit as to character, health, rank, fortune

or chastity shall constitute such fraud as will give grounds for action for the
annulment of marriage.

Legal Separation

Grounds

(1) Repeated physical violence or grossly abusive conduct directed against

the petitioner, a common child, or a child of the petitioner;
(2) Physical violence or moral pressure to compel the petitioner to change
religious or political affiliation;
(3) Attempt of respondent to corrupt or induce the petitioner, a common
child, or a child of the petitioner, to engage in prostitution, or
connivance in such corruption or inducement;
(4) Final judgment sentencing the respondent to imprisonment of more
than six years, even if pardoned;
(5) Drug addiction or habitual alcoholism of the respondent;
(6) Lesbianism or homosexuality of the respondent;
(7) Contracting by the respondent of a subsequent bigamous marriage,
whether in the Philippines or abroad;
(8) Sexual infidelity or perversion;
(9) Attempt by the respondent against the life of the petitioner; or
(10) Abandonment of petitioner by respondent without justifiable cause
for more than one year.

The term "child" shall include a child by nature or by adoption.

Grounds for denial of a Petition for Legal Separation

(1) Condonation
(2) Consent
(3) Connivance
(4) Mutual guilt
(5) Collusion
(6) Prescription. (5 years)

Cooling Off Period.

An action for legal separation shall in no case be tried before six months
shall have elapsed since the filing of the petition.
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Property Relations Between Spouses

FC Article 91. Unless otherwise FC Article 106. Under the regime

provided in this Chapter or in the of conjugal partnership of gains,
marriage settlements, the the husband and wife place in a
community property shall common fund the proceeds,
consist of all the property owned products, fruits and income from
by the spouses at the time of the their separate properties and
celebration of the marriage or those acquired by either or both
acquired thereafter. spouses through their efforts or
by chance, and, upon dissolution
FC Article 92. The following shall of the marriage or of the
be excluded from the community partnership, the net gains or
property: benefits obtained by either or both
spouses shall be divided equally
(1) Property acquired during the between them, unless otherwise
marriage by gratuitous title by agreed in the marriage
either spouse, and the fruits as settlements.
well as the income thereof, if any,
unless it is expressly provided by FC Article 109. The following shall
the donor, testator or grantor that be the exclusive property of each
they shall form part of the spouse:
community property;
(1) That which is brought to the
(2) Property for personal and marriage as his or her own;
exclusive use of either spouse.
However, jewelry shall form part of (2) That which each acquires
the community property; during the marriage by gratuitous
title;
(3) Property acquired before the
marriage by either spouse who has (3) That which is acquired by right
legitimate descendants by a former of redemption, by barter or by
marriage, and the fruits as well as exchange with property belonging
the income, if any, of such to only one of the spouses; and
property. (201a)
(4) That which is purchased with
Art. 93. Property acquired during exclusive money of the wife or of
the marriage is presumed to the husband. 
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belong to the community, unless it

is proved that it is one of those
excluded therefrom.

Under Article 147, there is a presumption that the contributions are

equal. Property acquired by either exclusively belongs to such property,
subject to proof. Property acquired by both through their work/industry is
co-owned. The property relations between a man and a woman whose
marriage was declared null and void on the ground of psychological
incapacity is governed by this article. Note that, even if one of the
spouses did not contributed materially to the common fund, but the said
party took care of the household, the other party and their common
children, these acts are considered the said party’s contribution to the
common fund.

Under Article 148, there is no presumption of joint acquisition.

There is a presumption of equal sharing only when there is evidence of
joint acquisition but none as to the extent of actual contribution.
Otherwise, property acquired by either exclusively belongs to such
property, and property acquired by both through their work/industry is
owned by them in common in proportion to respective contributions.

Surname of Legitimate Children

NCC ARTICLE 364. Legitimate and legitimated children shall principally

use the surname of the father.

Alanis III v. Court of Appeals, G.R. No. 216425, [November 11, 2020])
(Per J. Leonen)

Reading Article 364 of the Civil Code together with the State's

declared policy to ensure the fundamental equality of women and men
before the law,  a legitimate child is entitled to use the surname of either
parent as a last name. Indeed, the provision states that legitimate children
shall "principally" use the surname of the father, but "principally" does not
mean "exclusively." This gives ample room to incorporate into Article 364
the State policy of ensuring the fundamental equality of women and men
before the law, and no discernible reason to ignore it.
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Tender Age Presumption

Upon dissolution of the absolute community or conjugal property regime,

the conjugal dwelling and the lot on which it is situated shall be adjudicated
to the spouse with whom the majority of the common children choose to
remain. Children below the age of seven years are deemed to have
chosen the mother, unless the court has decided otherwise. In case there
in no such majority, the court shall decide, taking into consideration the
best interests of said children. (FC Articles 102 and 129)

In case of separation of the parents, parental authority shall be exercised

by the parent designated by the Court. The Court shall take into account all
relevant considerations, especially the choice of the child over seven
years of age, unless the parent chosen is unfit. (FC Article 213)

Support

Support comprises everything indispensable for sustenance, dwelling,

clothing, medical attendance, education and transportation, in keeping with
the financial capacity of the family.

The education of the person entitled to be supported referred to in the

preceding paragraph shall include his schooling or training for some
profession, trade or vocation, even beyond the age of majority.
Transportation shall include expenses in going to and from school, or to
and from place of work. 

The following are obliged to support each other:

(1) The spouses;

(2) Legitimate ascendants and descendants;
(3) Parents and their legitimate children and the legitimate and
illegitimate children of the latter;
(4) Parents and their illegitimate children and the legitimate and
illegitimate children of the latter; and
(5) Legitimate brothers and sisters, whether of full or half-blood
(6) Brothers and sisters not legitimately related, whether of the full or
half-blood, except only when the need for support of the brother or
sister, being of age, is due to a cause imputable to the claimant’s
fault or negligence
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The amount of support shall be in proportion to the resources or means of

the giver and to the necessities of the recipient.

Support Pedente Lite

In determining the amount to be awarded as support pendente lite it is not

necessary to go fully into the merits of the case, it being sufficient that
the court ascertain the kind and amount of evidence which it may deem
sufficient to enable it to justly resolve the application, one way or the other,
in view of the merely provisional character of the resolution to be
entered. Mere affidavits may satisfy the court to pass upon the
application for support pendente lite. It is enough that the facts be
established by affidavits or other documentary evidence appearing in
the record.

C. PROPERTY

i. Concept of Property

Anything which is or may be the object of appropriation.

Immovable Properties

(1) Land, 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; 
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(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, fish ponds 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, though floating, are intended by their
nature and object to remain at a fixed place on a river, lake, or
coast; 
(10) Contracts for public works, and servitudes and other real
rights over immovable property.

Movable Properties

(1) Those movables susceptible of appropriation which are not included

in the preceding [enumeration]; 
(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 transported 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; and 
(6) Shares of stock of agricultural, commercial and industrial entities,
although they may have real estate.

Properties 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;

(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

Characteristics of Properties of Public Dominion

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(1) Cannot be appropriated;

(2) Cannot be the subject matter of contracts; hence, they cannot be
alienated or encumbered;
(3) Cannot be acquired by prescription;
(4) Cannot be subject to attachment of execution;
(5) Cannot be burdened by any voluntary easement.

Patrimonial Property

Those property of the State which are not intended for public use, or for
public service, or for the development of the national wealth, as well as
those property of provinces, cities, and municipalities which are not
intended for public use.

ii. Ownership

Modes of acquiring ownership

(1) Occupation;
(2) Intellectual creation;
(3) Prescription;
(4) Law;
(5) Donation;
(6) Testate and intestate succession; and
(7) In consequence of certain contracts, tradition.

Traditional attributes of ownership

(1) Jus possidendi (right to possess)

(2) Jus utendi (right to use)
(3) Jus fruendi (right to enjoy the fruits)
(4) Jus abutendi (right to consume the thing by its use).
(5) Jus disponendi (right to dispose);
(6) Jus vindicandi (right to vindicate)

iii. Co-ownership
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There is co-ownership whenever the ownership of an undivided thing or

right belongs to different persons.

The share of the co-owners, in the benefits as well as in the charges, shall
be proportional to their respective interests. Any stipulation in a contract to
the contrary shall be void.

The portions belonging to the co-owners in the co-ownership shall be

presumed equal, unless the contrary is proved.

Any one of the co-owners may bring an action in ejectment.

Acts of administration and acts of alteration

Acts of administration are those which refer to the enjoyment,

exploitation, and alteration of the thing which do not affect its
substance or form. Acts of alteration , on the other hand, changes the
thing from the state in which the other owners believe it should
remain, or withdraws it from the use to which they believe it is
intended.

iv. Possession

Possession is the holding of a thing or the enjoyment of a right.

Elements of possession

(1)The corpus or holding or material detention or enjoyment of a thing

or right; and
(2)The animus possidendi or intent to possess the thing or right.

How Possession is Acquired

(1) By the material occupation of a thing or the exercise of a right,

(2) By subjecting a thing or right to action of our will, or
(3) By the proper acts and legal formalities.

How possession is lost

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(1)Abandonment;
(2)Assignment;
(3)Destruction or total loss;
(4)Possession of another subject;
(5)Recovery of the thing.

D. OBLIGATIONS

An obligation is a juridical necessity to give, to do, or not to do.

Requisites of a valid obligation

(1)A juridical tie, which binds the parties to the obligation and
which may arise either from bilateral or unilateral acts of
persons;
(2)An active subject known as the creditor or oblige, who can
demand the fulfilment of the obligation;
(3)A passive subject known as the debtor or obligor, from whom
the obligation is juridically demandable; and
(4)The fact, prestation or service which constitutes the object of
the obligation.

Sources of obligations

(1)Law;
(2)Contracts;
(3)Quasi-Contracts;
(4)Acts or omissions punished by law; and
(5)Quasi-delicts.

Different classes of obligations

(1)Pure, conditional, and with a term or period;

(2)Alternative and facultative;
(3)Joint and solidary;
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(4)Divisible and indivisible;

(5)With and without penal clause.

Classes of Conditions

(1)Suspensive – when the fulfillment of the condition results in the

acquisition of rights arising out of the obligations;

(2)Resolutory - when the fulfillment of the condition results in the

extinguishment of rights arising out of the obligation;

(3)Potestative - when the fulfillment of the condition depends upon

the will of a party to the obligation;

(4)Casual - when the fulfillment of the condition depends upon

chance and/or the will of a third person;

(5)Mixed - when the fulfillment of the condition depends partly

upon the will of a party to the obligation and partly upon chance
and/or the will of a third person;

(6)Possible – when the condition is capable of realization

according to the nature, law, public policy, or good customs;

(7)Impossible - when the condition is not capable of realization

according to the nature, law, public policy, or good customs;

(8)Positive - when the condition involves the performance of an

act;

(9)Negative - when the condition involves the non-performance of

an act;
(10) Divisible - when the condition is susceptible of partial
realization;

(11) Indivisible - when the condition is not susceptible of partial

realization;

(12) Conjunctive – when there are several conditions, all of which

must be realized;
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(13) Alternative – when there are several conditions, one of which

must be realized;

(14) Express – when the condition is stated expressly;

(15) Implied – when the condition is tacit.

Alternative and facultative obligations

Alternative obligations refer to those juridical relations which

comprehend several objects or prestations which are due, but the
payment or performance of one of them would be sufficient. On
the other hand, facultative obligations refer to those juridical
relations where only one object or prestation has been agreed
upon by the parties to the obligation, but the obligor may deliver or
render another in substitution.

Divisible and indivisible obligations

Divisible obligations are those which have as their object a

prestation which is susceptible of partial performance without the
essence of the obligation being changed. Indivisible obligations, on
the other hand, are those which have as their object a prestation
which is not susceptible of partial performance, because otherwise
the essence of the obligation will be changed.

Obligation with a penal clause

An obligation with a penal clause is one with an accessory

undertaking by virtue of which the obligor assumes a greater
liability in case of breach of obligation.

Solidary Obligations

(1)When the obligation expressly so states;

(2)When the law requires solidarity; and
(3)When the nature of the obligation requires solidarity.

Modes of extinguishing obligations

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(1)Payment or performance;
(2)Loss of the thing due;
(3)Condonation or remission of debt;
(4)Confusion or merger of the rights of the creditor and debtor;
(5)Compensation;
(6)Novation;
(7)Annulment;
(8)Rescission;
(9)Fulfillment of a resolutory condition;
(10) Prescription.

Dacion en pago (dation in payment)

Special form of payment whereby a property is alienated to the

creditor in satisfaction of a debt in money.

Forms of Novation

(1)Expromission – The substitution of the debtors is effected with

the consent of the creditor at the instance of the new debtor
even without the knowledge or against the will of the debtor;

(2)Delegacion – The substitution of debtors is effected with the

consent of the creditor at the instance of the old debtor with the
concurrence of the new debtor.

Default or mora

Default or mora signifies the idea of delay in the fulfillment of an

obligation. In other words, it is the non-fulfillment of an obligation with
respect to time.

Different kinds of default or mora

(1)Mora solvendi, or the delay of the obligor or debtor to perform his

obligation;
(2)Mora accipiendi, or the delay of the oblige or creditor to accept the
delivery of the thing which is the object of the obligation;
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(3)Compensatio morae, or the delay of the parties or obligors in

reciprocal obligations.

E. CONTRACTS

A contract is a meeting of minds between two (2) persons whereby

one binds himself, with respect to the other, to give something or to
render some service.

Essential elements of contract

(1)Consent of the contracting parties;

(2)Object certain which is the subject matter of the contract;
(3)Cause of the obligation which is established.

Stipulation pour autrui

A stipulation in a contract, clearly and deliberately conferred by the

contracting parties as a favor upon a third person, who must
communicate his acceptance of the favor or benefit to the obligor
before it could be revoked.

Perfection of Contract

From the moment that there is a manifestation of the concurrence

between the offer and the acceptance with respect to the object and
the cause which shall constitute the contract. (Art. 1319)

Contract of adhesion

A contract of adhesion is so-called because its terms are prepared by

only one party while the other party merely affixes his signature
signifying his adhesion thereto.

Rescissible Contracts
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(1) Those which are entered into by guardians whenever the wards
whom they represent suffer lesion by more than one-fourth of the
value of the things which are the object thereof; 

(2) Those agreed upon in representation of absentees, if the latter

suffer the lesion stated in the preceding number; 

(3) Those undertaken in fraud of creditors when the latter cannot in

any other manner collect the claims due them; 

(4) Those which refer to things under litigation if they have been
entered into by the defendant without the knowledge and approval of
the litigants or of competent judicial authority; 

(5) All other contracts specially declared by law to be subject to

rescission.

(6) Payments made in a state of insolvency for obligations to whose

fulfillment the debtor could not be compelled at the time they were
effected, are also rescissible.

Resolution

The power to rescind obligations is implied in reciprocal ones, in case one

of the obligors should not comply with what is incumbent upon him.

The injured party may choose between the fulfillment and the
rescission of the obligation, with the payment of damages in either
case. He may also seek rescission, even after he has chosen fulfillment, if
the latter should become impossible.

The court shall decree the rescission claimed, unless there be just cause
authorizing the fixing of a period.

This is understood to be without prejudice to the rights of third persons

who have acquired the thing, in accordance with articles 1385 and 1388
and the Mortgage Law. 

Resolution v. Rescission
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Resolution Rescission
Nature principal action, subsidiary action involving
retaliatory in nature partial resolution
Basis breach of trust economic prejudice
Parties-in- only a party to the that may be sought even by
interest contract may seek the a thirty party prejudiced by
remedy the contract
Grounds non-compliance or non- equity
performance
Availability only to reciprocal applies to either unilateral or
obligations reciprocal obligations,
regardless of whether the
contract has been fully or
partially fulfilled

Mutual Restitution

NCC Article 1385. Rescission creates the obligation to return the

things which were the object of the contract, together with their
fruits, and the price with its interest; consequently, it can be carried out
only when he who demands rescission can return whatever he may be
obliged to restore.

Laperal v. Solid Homes, G.R. No. 130913, June 21, 2005.

Article 1385 on mutual restitution applies to both rescission

and resolution:

Despite the fact that Article 1124 of the old Civil Code from whence
Article 1191 was taken, used the term "resolution", the amendment thereto
(presently, Article 1191) explicitly and clearly used the term "rescission".
Unless Article 1191 is subsequently amended to revert back to the term
"resolution", this Court has no alternative but to apply the law, as it is
written. Again, since Article 1385 of the Civil Code expressly and clearly
states that "rescission creates the obligation to return the things which
were the object of the contract, together with their fruits, and the price with
its interest," the Court finds no justification to sustain petitioners’ position
that said Article 1385 does not apply to rescission under Article 1191.

Voidable Contracts
22

(1)Those where one of the parties is incapable of giving his consent

to a contract; and
(2)Those where consent is vitiated by mistake, violence, intimidation,
undue influence, or fraud.

Unenforceable Contracts

The following contracts are unenforceable, unless they are ratified: 

(1) Those entered into in the name of another person by one who has
been given no authority or legal representation, or who has acted
beyond his powers; 

(2) Those that do not comply with the Statute of Frauds as set forth in
this number. In the following cases an agreement hereafter made
shall be unenforceable by action, unless the same, or some note or
memorandum, thereof, be in writing, and subscribed by the party
charged, or by his agent; evidence, therefore, of the agreement
cannot be received without the writing, or a secondary evidence of its
contents: 

(a) An agreement that by its terms is not to be performed within

a year from the making thereof; 

(b) A special promise to answer for the debt, default, or

miscarriage of another; 

(c) An agreement made in consideration of marriage, other than

a mutual promise to marry; 

(d) An agreement for the sale of goods, chattels or things in

action, at a price not less than five hundred pesos, unless the
buyer accept and receive part of such goods and chattels, or
the evidences, or some of them, of such things in action or pay
at the time some part of the purchase money; but when a sale
is made by auction and entry is made by the auctioneer in his
sales book, at the time of the sale, of the amount and kind of
property sold, terms of sale, price, names of the purchasers
and person on whose account the sale is made, it is a sufficient
memorandum; 
23

(e) An agreement for the leasing for a longer period than one
year, or for the sale of real property or of an interest therein; 

(f) A representation as to the credit of a third person. 

(3) Those where both parties are incapable of giving consent to a

contract.

Void and Inexistent Contracts

Void contracts refer to those where all the requisites of a contract are
present, but the cause, object, or purpose is contrary to law, morals,
good customs, public order or public policy, or the contract itself is
prohibited or declared by law to be void. Inexistent contracts, on the
other hand, refer to those where one or some or all of those
requisites which are essential for validity are absolutely lacking.

Inexistent Contract and Annullable Contracts

Inexistent Contracts are considered as not having been entered into

and, therefore, void ab initio. They do not create any obligation and
cannot be ratified or validated, as there is no agreement to ratify or
validate. On the other hand, annullable or voidable contracts are valid
until invalidated by the court but may be ratified. In inexistent
contracts, one or more requisites of a valid contract are absent. In
annullable contracts, all the elements of a contract are present except
that the consent of one of the contracting parties was vitiated or one
of them has no capacity to give consent.

Option Contract

An option contract is one granting a privilege to buy or sell within an

agreed time and at a determined price. It must be supported by a
consideration distinct from the price

Principle of in pari delicto

When the defect of a void contract consists in the illegality of the

cause or object of the contract, and both of the parties are at fault, the
law refuses them every remedy and leaves them where they are.
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Effects of Void Contracts

When the nullity proceeds from the illegality of the cause or object of the
contract, and the act constitutes a criminal offense, both parties being
in pari delicto, they shall have no action against each other, and both
shall be prosecuted. But if one of the parties is innocent, said innocent
party may claim what he has given, and shall not be bound to comply
with his promise.

If the act in which the unlawful or forbidden cause consists does not
constitute a criminal offense, the following rules shall be observed:

(1) When the fault is on the part of both contracting parties,

neither may recover what he has given by virtue of the contract,
or demand the performance of the other's undertaking;

(2) When only one of the contracting parties is at fault, he cannot

recover what he has given by reason of the contract, or ask for the
fulfillment of what has been promised him. The other, who is not at
fault, may demand the return of what he has given without any
obligation to comply his promise.

F. TORTS

Whoever by act or omission causes damage to another, there being

fault or negligence, is obliged to pay for the damage done. Such fault
or negligence, if there is no pre- existing contractual relation between
the parties, is called a quasi-delict and is governed by the provisions
of this Chapter.

Elements

1. Act or omission
2. Damage or injury is caused to another
3. Fault or negligence is present
4. There is no pre-existing contractual relations between the
parties.
5. Causal connection between damage done and act/omission.

Test of Negligence.
25

 Did the defendant in doing the alleged negligent act use the
reasonable care and caution which an ordinary prudent person
would have used in the same situation? If not, then he is guilty
of negligence.
 Could a prudent man, in the case under consideration, foresee
harm as a result of the course pursued? If so, as the duty of the
actor to take precautions to guard against harm.

Good Father of a Family (pater familias).

A reasonable person is deemed to have knowledge of the facts that a

person should be expected to know based on ordinary human
experience.

Contributory Negligence.

Contributory negligence is conduct on the part of the injured party,

contributing as a legal cause to the harm he has suffered, which falls
below the standard which he is required to conform for his own protection.
It is an act or omission amounting to want of ordinary care on the part of
the person injured which, concurring with the defendant’s negligence, is
the proximate cause of the injury.

Concurrent Negligence.

If both parties are equally negligent the courts will leave them as they
are; there can be no recovery.

Doctrine of Last Clear Chance.

Even though a person's own acts may have placed him in a position
of peril and an injury results, the injured is entitled to recover if the
defendant thru the exercise of reasonable care and prudence might
have avoided injurious consequences to the plaintiff. This defense is
available only in an action by the driver or owner of one vehicle
against the driver or owner of the other vehicle involved.

Emergency Rule.
26

One who suddenly finds himself in a place of danger, and is required

to act without time to consider the best means that may be adopted to
avoid the impending danger, is not guilty of negligence, if he fails to
adopt what subsequently and upon reflection may appear to have
been a better method, unless the emergency in which he finds
himself is brought about by his own negligence."

Doctrine of Assumption of Risk (Volenti non fit injuria)

a. Intentional exposure to a known danger

b. One who voluntarily assumed the risk of an injury from a known
danger cannot recover in an action for negligence or an injury is
incurred
c. Plaintiff's acceptance of risk (by law/contract/nature of obligation)
has erased defendant's duty so that his negligence is not a legal
wrong
d. Applies to all known danger

Fortuitous Event.

No person shall be responsible for those events which cannot be

foreseen, or which through foreseen were inevitable. Requisites:

a. The cause of the unforeseen and unexpected occurrence, or of the

failure of the debtor to comply with his obligation, must be
independent of the human will;
b. It must be impossible to foresee the event which constitutes caso
fortuito or if it can be foreseen it must be impossible to avoid
c. The occurrence must be such as to render it impossible for the
debtor to fulfill his obligation in a normal manner
d. The obligor must be free from any participation in the aggravation
of the injury resulting to the creditor.

Damnum Absque Injuria.

A principle that involves damage without injury, therefore no liability is

incurred; there is no legal injury.

G. DAMAGES
27

Damages may be defined as a sum of money which the law awards

or imposes as pecuniary compensation, recompense, or satisfaction
for an injury done or wrong sustained as a consequence of the
breach of some duty or the violation of some right.

Interest

In the absence of an express stipulation as to the rate of interest that

would govern the parties, the rate of legal interest for loans or forbearance
of any money, goods or credits and the rate allowed in judgments will now
be six percent (6%) per annum effective July 1, 2013. It should be noted,
nonetheless, that the new rate could only be applied prospectively and not
retroactively. Consequently, the twelve percent (12%) per annum legal
interest shall apply only until June 30, 2013. Come July 1, 2013 the new
rate of six percent (6%) per annum shall be the prevailing rate of interest
when applicable.

Nacar v. Gallery Frames

When the obligation is breached, and it consists in the payment of a sum

of money, i.e., a loan or forbearance of money, the interest due should
be that which may have been stipulated in writing. Furthermore, the
interest due shall itself earn legal interest from the time it is judicially
demanded. In the absence of stipulation, the rate of interest shall be
6% per annum to be computed from default, i.e., from judicial or
extrajudicial demand under and subject to the provisions of Article 1169 of
the Civil Code.
When an obligation, not constituting a loan or forbearance of money, is
breached, an interest on the amount of damages awarded may be
imposed at the discretion of the court at the rate of 6% per annum. No
interest, however, shall be adjudged on unliquidated claims or damages,
except when or until the demand can be established with reasonable
certainty. Accordingly, where the demand is established with reasonable
certainty, the interest shall begin to run from the time the claim is
made judicially or extrajudicially (Art. 1169, Civil Code), but when such
certainty cannot be so reasonably established at the time the demand
is made, the interest shall begin to run only from the date the
judgment of the court is made (at which time the quantification of
damages may be deemed to have been reasonably ascertained). The
actual base for the computation of legal interest shall, in any case, be on
the amount finally adjudged.
28

When the judgment of the court awarding a sum of money becomes

final and executory, the rate of legal interest, whether the case falls under
paragraph 1 or paragraph 2, above, shall be 6% per annum from such
finality until its satisfaction, this interim period being deemed to be by
then an equivalent to a forbearance of credit.

And, in addition to the above, judgments that have become final and
executory prior to July 1, 2013, shall not be disturbed and shall continue to
be implemented applying the rate of interest fixed therein.