FIRST DIVISION
[G.R. No. 14807. March 17, 1920. ]
TRINIDAD FERNANDEZ and BASILISA FERNANDEZ, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. BENJAMIN C. GARRIDO, Defendant-Appellee.
Filemon Sotto for Appellants.
Ruperto Kapunan for Appellee.
SYLLABUS
1. ANIMALS; LARGE CATTLE; USUFRUCT; LIQUIDATION OF PARTNERSHIP. — The heirs of the owner of a certain portion of large cattle delivered to another in usufruct — on condition that as partners the increase thereof would be divided into halves — reclaimed the portion of the cattle born of those held in usufruct as well as one-half of the latter. It has been proven in the case that a final liquidation has been effected between the usufructuary, the partners of the claimants, and the latter, and that their corresponding shares have been delivered to the respective parties, Held: That it is not proper to decide the suit in favor of the plaintiffs (or claimants) because once the said liquidation has been. effected, the usufruct is considered as extinguished and the partnership dissolved by the common consent of the parties, it not appearing that, for some reason, there had been reserved any right in favor of one of the contracting parties and against the other.
D E C I S I O N
TORRES, J.:
On February 26, 1899, Brigida Lansag and the defendant Benjamin C. Garrido entered into a contract by virtue of which the former was to deliver to the latter one hundred sixty-six (166) head of large cattle to be taken care of and preserved with the understanding that the young produced thereby were to be divided into two equal parts between the parties without any responsibility on the part of the defendant to answer for the loss which might have been caused by sickness or accident, provided the owner has been notified thereof, and with the right of selling the young which he may deem convenient, delivering one-half of the proceeds of the sale to the owner of the cattle or to her daughter Basilisa Fernandez (Exhibit B, p. 37).
Upon the death of Brigida Lansag in 1903 or 1904, her two daughters Basilisa Fernandez and Trinidad Fernandez, the plaintiffs herein, entered into an agreement with the defendant Benjamin C. Garrido to carry on the former contract under the same conditions as formerly established during the lifetime of Brigida Lansag, that is, Benjamin C. Garrido is to continue as usufructuary of the large cattle that had been delivered to him by the deceased Brigida Lansag, then in his possession, with the right to participate in the increase thereof, share and share alike with the two sisters (pp. 86, 87, sten. notes).
On July 12, 1916, Trinidad Fernandez filed a complaint with the Court of First Instance of Leyte and, after alleging the existence of the aforementioned contract, and the fact that since the death of her mother Brigida Lansag she has received from the defendant only 19 head of cattle out of the 2,000 into which the original number under the care of the said defendant, Benjamin C. Garrido, has multiplied, prayed that the latter be ordered to deliver to her the 166 head which the capital of the partnership, originally consisted plus one-half of the aforementioned 2,000 head, deducting therefrom the 19 head she has already received before or in default thereof to pay the amount in cash at the rate of P50 per head, with the costs of this instance against the defendant.
In answer to this complaint, the defendant denied generally all the essential allegations thereof, and prayed for the dismissal of the same with costs against the plaintiff.
After the foregoing answer has been filed, Basilisa Fernandez appeared and asked the court to allow her to intervene as party plaintiff, and in effect alleged that she takes for her complaint all the averments of the plaintiff Trinidad Fernandez and that she had the same interest as the latter in the cattle in question for she is her sister.
The court having admitted the intervention of Basilisa Fernandez as party plaintiff, the defendant amended his former answer, denying generally all the essential averments of the plaintiff’s complaint, and alleged as special defense that the cause of action of the latter has already prescribed.
The case having been tried and the evidence adduced by both parties heard, the court on October 23, 1917, rendered its decision declaring that a liquidation has already been had between the parties and that the plaintiffs have no longer any right to the cattle existing in the possession of the defendant, and absolved the latter from the complaint, with costs against the plaintiffs.
Against this decision counsel for the plaintiffs excepted, interposed an appeal, and filed the corresponding bill of exceptions after the motion for a new trial was overruled. the court having approved said bill of exceptions, same was forwarded to the clerk of this court together with the evidence adduced at the trial.
The question involved in the trial court and raised in this court on this appeal by the assignments of error submitted by the appellants is very simple, and is reduced only to whether or not liquidation has already been made between the parties, and the corresponding portion has been delivered to each interested party, thereby dissolving the partnership then existing between them.
In the Exhibit 5 dated June 26, 1913, Trinidad Fernandez declared having received 26 head of cattle from Benjamin C. Garrido, and that the latter was then free from all responsibility (see Exhibit 5, p. 61 of the rec. and p. 14 of the B. of E.) .
In the Exhibit 12 Basilisa Fernandez declares on July 3, 1913, having received from Benjamin C. Garrido 6 cows is the share belonging to her (Exhibit 12, p. 72 of the rec. and p. 15 of the B. of E.) .
Both sisters admit having signed the two foregoing documents Exhibits 5 and 12, respectively (pp. 77 and 102, sten. notes), but pretend that when they signed them they did not understand the contents thereof because they did not read them (pp. 79 and 103, sten. notes).
Benjamin C. Garrido testified that he personally made a liquidation with Basilisa Fernandez in Villahermosa; that some time afterwards and when the son of Basilisa Fernandez, named Mariano Casaos, was in Villahermosa, he drafted Exhibit 12 and delivered it to the said Mariano Casaos at the same time when he delivered the cows corresponding to the latter’s mother in order that said animals may be placed on board the vessel of one Constantino Martinez, and carried to Caibiran where Basilisa Fernandez was, and there deliver them to her and ask her to sign this document Exhibit 12; that in effect that was what happened, and the said Constantino Martinez on his return brought with him this document signed by Basilisa Fernandez (pp. 130-132, sten. notes).
Basilisa Fernandez admitted that her son Mariano was the bearer of Exhibit 12 and that the cows were sent to her on board the vessel of Constantino Martinez where her son was sailing, and that said Constantino Martinez, who was managing the vessel, did not land so that she signed Exhibit 12 only in the presence of her son, who was also the one who asked her to sign it in order to deliver same on that very moment to Constantino Martinez (pp. 102, 103, sten. notes).
Basilisa Fernandez speaks Spanish, according to her own admission (p. 106, sten. notes), and it appears from the evidence that she understands this language and testified in Spanish, for it is shown in the record that in the course of her testimony she asked the court but once to have a question propounded to her translated into Visaya which shows that she possesses enough i
Upon the death of Brigida Lansag in 1903 or 1904, her two daughters Basilisa Fernandez and Trinidad Fernandez, the plaintiffs herein, entered into an agreement with the defendant Benjamin C. Garrido to carry on the former contract under the same conditions as formerly established during the lifetime of Brigida Lansag, that is, Benjamin C. Garrido is to continue as usufructuary of the large cattle that had been delivered to him by the deceased Brigida Lansag, then in his possession, with the right to participate in the increase thereof, share and share alike with the two sisters (pp. 86, 87, sten. notes).
On July 12, 1916, Trinidad Fernandez filed a complaint with the Court of First Instance of Leyte and, after alleging the existence of the aforementioned contract, and the fact that since the death of her mother Brigida Lansag she has received from the defendant only 19 head of cattle out of the 2,000 into which the original number under the care of the said defendant, Benjamin C. Garrido, has multiplied, prayed that the latter be ordered to deliver to her the 166 head which the capital of the partnership, originally consisted plus one-half of the aforementioned 2,000 head, deducting therefrom the 19 head she has already received before or in default thereof to pay the amount in cash at the rate of P50 per head, with the costs of this instance against the defendant.
In answer to this complaint, the defendant denied generally all the essential allegations thereof, and prayed for the dismissal of the same with costs against the plaintiff.
After the foregoing answer has been filed, Basilisa Fernandez appeared and asked the court to allow her to intervene as party plaintiff, and in effect alleged that she takes for her complaint all the averments of the plaintiff Trinidad Fernandez and that she had the same interest as the latter in the cattle in question for she is her sister.
The court having admitted the intervention of Basilisa Fernandez as party plaintiff, the defendant amended his former answer, denying generally all the essential averments of the plaintiff’s complaint, and alleged as special defense that the cause of action of the latter has already prescribed.
The case having been tried and the evidence adduced by both parties heard, the court on October 23, 1917, rendered its decision declaring that a liquidation has already been had between the parties and that the plaintiffs have no longer any right to the cattle existing in the possession of the defendant, and absolved the latter from the complaint, with costs against the plaintiffs.
Against this decision counsel for the plaintiffs excepted, interposed an appeal, and filed the corresponding bill of exceptions after the motion for a new trial was overruled. the court having approved said bill of exceptions, same was forwarded to the clerk of this court together with the evidence adduced at the trial.
The question involved in the trial court and raised in this court on this appeal by the assignments of error submitted by the appellants is very simple, and is reduced only to whether or not liquidation has already been made between the parties, and the corresponding portion has been delivered to each interested party, thereby dissolving the partnership then existing between them.
In the Exhibit 5 dated June 26, 1913, Trinidad Fernandez declared having received 26 head of cattle from Benjamin C. Garrido, and that the latter was then free from all responsibility (see Exhibit 5, p. 61 of the rec. and p. 14 of the B. of E.) .
In the Exhibit 12 Basilisa Fernandez declares on July 3, 1913, having received from Benjamin C. Garrido 6 cows is the share belonging to her (Exhibit 12, p. 72 of the rec. and p. 15 of the B. of E.) .
Both sisters admit having signed the two foregoing documents Exhibits 5 and 12, respectively (pp. 77 and 102, sten. notes), but pretend that when they signed them they did not understand the contents thereof because they did not read them (pp. 79 and 103, sten. notes).
Benjamin C. Garrido testified that he personally made a liquidation with Basilisa Fernandez in Villahermosa; that some time afterwards and when the son of Basilisa Fernandez, named Mariano Casaos, was in Villahermosa, he drafted Exhibit 12 and delivered it to the said Mariano Casaos at the same time when he delivered the cows corresponding to the latter’s mother in order that said animals may be placed on board the vessel of one Constantino Martinez, and carried to Caibiran where Basilisa Fernandez was, and there deliver them to her and ask her to sign this document Exhibit 12; that in effect that was what happened, and the said Constantino Martinez on his return brought with him this document signed by Basilisa Fernandez (pp. 130-132, sten. notes).
Basilisa Fernandez admitted that her son Mariano was the bearer of Exhibit 12 and that the cows were sent to her on board the vessel of Constantino Martinez where her son was sailing, and that said Constantino Martinez, who was managing the vessel, did not land so that she signed Exhibit 12 only in the presence of her son, who was also the one who asked her to sign it in order to deliver same on that very moment to Constantino Martinez (pp. 102, 103, sten. notes).
Basilisa Fernandez speaks Spanish, according to her own admission (p. 106, sten. notes), and it appears from the evidence that she understands this language and testified in Spanish, for it is shown in the record that in the course of her testimony she asked the court but once to have a question propounded to her translated into Visaya which shows that she possesses enough i
