ANTONIO A. FERNANDEZ
Counsel for Miss Rufina Lim"
(Rollo, p. 7; Emphasis supplied)
On the matter of fraud, Article 1338 of the Civil Code of the Philippines provides:jgc:chanrobles.com.ph
"There is fraud when, through insidious words or machinations of one of the contracting parties, the other is induced to enter into a contract which, without them, he would not have agreed to" (Art. 1338, Civil Code).chanrobles.com : virtual law library
In order that fraud may vitiate consent and be a cause for annulment of contract, the following must concur:chanrob1es virtual 1aw library
1.) It must have been employed by one contracting party upon the other (Art. 1342 and 134);
2.) It must have induced the other party to enter into the contract (Art. 1338);
3.) It must have been serious (Art. 1344);
4.) It must have resulted in damage and injury to the party seeking annulment (Tolentino, IV Commentaries on the Civil Code of the Philippines, 507 [1991 ed]).
As to the alleged mistake, Article 1331 of the Civil Code of the Philippines provides:jgc:chanrobles.com.ph
"In order that mistake may invalidate consent, it should refer to the substance of the thing which is the object of the contract, or to those conditions which have principally moved one or both parties to enter into the contract."cralaw virtua1aw library
To invalidate consent, the error must be real and not one that could have been avoided by the party alleging it. The error must arise from facts unknown to him. He cannot allege an error which refers to a fact known to him or which he should have known by ordinary diligent examination of the facts. An error so patent and obvious that nobody could have made it, or one which could have been avoided by ordinary prudence, cannot be invoked by the one who made it in order to annul his contract (Tolentino, supra at pp. 486-487).
Petitioner could have avoided the alleged mistake had she exerted efforts to verify from her co-owners if they really consented to sell their respective shares.
As to undue influence, Article 1337 of the Civil Code of the Philippines provides:jgc:chanrobles.com.ph
"There is undue influence when a person takes improper advantage of his power over the will of another, depriving the latter of a reasonable freedom of choice. The following circumstances shall be considered: the confidential, family, spiritual and other relations between the parties, or the fact that the person alleged to have been unduly influenced was suffering from mental weakness, or was ignorant or in financial distress."cralaw virtua1aw library
Undue influence, therefore, is any means employed upon a party which, under the circumstances, he could not well resist and which controlled his volition and induced him to give his consent to the contract, which otherwise he would not have entered into. It must in some measure destroy the free agency of a party and interfere with the exercise of that independent discretion which is necessary for determining the advantages or disadvantages of a proposed contract (Tolentino, supra at p. 501). If a competent person has once assented to a contract freely and fairly, he is bound thereby.
The finding of the Court of Appeals that petitioner executed the contract of her own free will and choice and not from duress is fully supported by the evidence. Such finding should not be disturbed (Martinez v. Hongkong & Shanghai Bank, 15 Phil. 252 [1910]).chanrobles virtualawlibrary chanrobles.com:chanrobles.com.ph
Private respondent did not commit any wrongful act or omission which violated the primary right of petitioner. Hence, petitioner did not have a cause of action (State Investment House, Inc. v. Court of Appeals, 206 SCRA 348 [1992]).
WHEREFORE, the petition is DENIED. The decision of the Court of Appeals appealed from is AFFIRMED.
SO ORDERED.
Cruz, Chairman, Davide, Jr., Bellosillo and Kapunan, JJ., concur.