Santa Ana, Jr. and Sto. Domingo vs. Hernandez | G.R. No.

L-16394 | December 17, 1966

FACTS:
Petitioners-spouses Jose Santa Ana, Jr. and Lourdes Sto. Domingo sold two separate portions of a
parcel of land they owned for P11,000.00 to respondent Rosa Hernandez. Petitioners previously sold
other portions of the land to other vendees. Respondent caused the preparation of a subdivision plan
different from the one prepared by the petitioners. Petitioners filed with the lower court a suit against
respondent, claiming that the latter is occupying an excess of 17,000 square meters in area of what she
had bought from them. The lower court ruled in favor of the petitioners and ordered respondent to vacate
the excess portions she occupied. The Court of Appeals, in dismissing the complaint and declaring
respondent as the owner of lots, applied Article 1542 of the New Civil Code. Petitioners appealed to the
Supreme Court, claiming, among others, that Article 1542 does not apply, allegedly because the
boundaries, as shown in the deed of sale, are not definite.

ISSUE/S:
Whether or not Article 1542 applies to the case at bar?

RULING:
YES. Where the two parcels of land sold for a lump sum were identified by the conspicuous boundaries
consisting of a long and continuous pilapil or dike that separated them from the other lands, the sale
made was of a definite and identified tract, a ‘corpus certum’, that obligated the vendors to deliver to the
buyer all the land within the boundaries, irrespective of whether the real area should be greater or smaller
than what is recited in the deed. This is particularly true where the area given is qualified to be
approximate only i.e., “more or less.” To hold the buyer to no more than the area recited on the deed, it
must be made clear therein that the sale was made by unit of measure at a definite price for each unit. As
between the absence of a recital of a given price per unit of measurement, and the specification of the
total area sold, the former must prevail and determines the applicability of the norms concerning sales for
a lump sum.