Professional Documents
Culture Documents
PART I
A.1.
hospitalized for two (2) months, during which she incurred P400,000.00
in medical fees. Her expenses were all duly substantiated by official
receipts. During the two (2)-month period of her confinement, she was
unable to report for work and earn any salary, which was established at
the rate of P50,000.00 per month. Mrs. A then filed a civil case for
damages against Mr. X.
(a) Based on the case filed by Mrs. A, what is the source of Mr. X's
obligation to her as a result of his acts? Explain. (2 %)
SUGGESTED ANSWER:
(b) May Mrs. A claim actual damages from Mr. X? If so, how much
can Mrs. A claim? Explain. (2%)
SUGGESTED ANSWER:
SUGGESTED ANSWERS:
ALTERNATIVE ANSWER:
(d) What must Mrs. A prove if she wants to recover moral damages
from Mr. X? (2%)
SUGGESTED ANSWER:
ALTERNATIVE ANSWER:
Mrs. A must prove the following: (1) that she suffered physical
injuries; (2) that Mr. X committed a culpable act or omission; (3) that
the wrongful act or omission of Mr. X is the proximate cause of the
damages she sustained; and (4) that X’s act or omission is either a
criminal offense resulting to physical injuries or a quasi-delict causing
BRIMPSAMSON2020
physical injuries [Mendoza v. Gomez, G.R. No. 160110, June 18, 2014].
SUGGESTED ANSWER:
A.2.
One day, the AFP informed W that H had been declared missing
since 1995. In consequence, W diligently pursued all available means to
ascertain her husband's whereabouts, but to no avail.
Firmly believing that H had already died, W filed a claim before the
AFP in 2008 for the death benefits of the missing serviceman. However,
the AFP, despite being cognizant of H' s status, would not act on the
claim, contending that H could not be presumed dead unless a judicial
declaration to this effect is issued by the proper court.
SUGGESTED ANSWER:
The Court has declared that the AFP can decide claims of death
benefits of a missing soldier without requiring the claimant to first
produce a court declaration of the presumptive death of such soldier
and the claimant need only present any "evidence" which shows that
the concerned soldier had been missing for such number of years
and/or under the circumstances prescribed under Articles 390 and 391
of the Civil Code. Article 391 of the Civil Code provides that a person
in the armed forces who has taken part in war and has been missing for
four years shall be presumed dead for all purposes. Here, W informed
the AFP that her husband had been declared missing since 1995, 23
years before the filing of her claim in 2018. There is, thus, no need for
a judicial declaration of presumptive death before the AFP can act on
the claim of W [Tadeo-Matias v. Republic, G.R. No. 230751, April 25,
2018].
A.3.
In 2018, Mr.Reyes and Ms. Cruz ended their relationship. Mr. Reyes
thereafter lodged a petition in court for parental custody and change or
SUGGESTED ANSWER:
over an illegitimate child, it follows that only if she defaults can the
father assume custody and authority over the minor and that only the
most compelling of reasons, such as the mother’s unfitness to exercise
sole parental authority, shall justify her deprivation of parental
authority and the award of custody to someone else [Briones v Miguel,
G.R. No. 156343, October 18, 2004]. There is no showing that Ms. Cruz,
C’s mother was unfit to exercise sole parental authority over C;
therefore, she cannot be deprived of C’s custody.
(b) Can Mr. Reyes validly compel the change or correction of C's surname
from "Cruz" to "Reyes"? Explain. (2.5%)
SUGGESTED ANSWER:
No, Mr. Reyes cannot compel the change of surname from “Cruz”
to “Reyes”. The Court has held that Article 176 of the Family Code
gives illegitimate children the right to decide if they want to use the
surname of their father or not. The Court further declared that it is not
the father or the mother who is granted by law the right to dictate the
surname of their illegitimate children; hence, Mr. Reyes cannot validly
compel the change or correction of C’s surname [Grande v. Antonio,
G.R. No. 206248, February 18, 2014].
If they are still minors, however, the decision to use the father’s
surname may be exercised for them by their mother pursuant to the
latter’s parental authority over illegitimate children. In this case, the
father cannot compel the mother to register the child under his
surname.
A.4.
SUGGESTED ANSWER:
A.5.
X and Y were in a live-in relationship for the longest time, and were
already blessed with a child, Z. They finally decided to get married on
March 15, 2020. When X's parents found about the news, they were
thrilled and thus, donated in favor of Z, the family heirloom, particularly,
a gold ring valued at P250,000.00, which X and Y orally accepted on
behalf of their minor child. One day, X and Y got into a serious quarrel,
which resulted in them setting aside their marriage plans.
SUGGESTED ANSWER:
SUGGESTED ANSWER:
A.6.
Name at least two (2) exclusions from the following property regimes as
enumerated under the Family Code:
SUGGESTED ANSWER:
SUGGESTED ANSWER:
A.7.
BRIMPSAMSON2020
SUGGESTED ANSWER:
ALTERNATIVE ANSWER:
(b) Assuming that Mr. P all the while, knew but did not object to Mr. A's
construction of the house on his property, may Mr. A compel Mr. P to
purchase the said improvement due to Mr. P's bad faith? Explain. (3%)
SUGGESTED ANSWER:
BRIMPSAMSON2020
ALTERNATIVE ANSWER:
A.8.
Mr. E leased a piece of land from Mr. F to be used for his sawmill
business for a period of ten (10) years. Consequently, Mr. E placed heavy
machineries there on to be used for his aforementioned business, with the
intention of removing them after the expiration of the lease period.
Are Mr. E's heavy machineries considered real properties under the
Civil Code? Explain. (3%)
SUGGESTED ANSWER:
A.9.
SUGGESTED ANSWER:
jus possidendi) with the owner retaining the jus disponendi or the
power to alienate the same [Moralidad v. Sps. Pernes, G.R. No. 152809,
August 3, 2006].
SUGGESTED ANSWER:
No, the demand is not proper. The Civil Code provides that the
usufructuary may make on the property held in usufruct any useful
improvements, or expenses for mere pleasure, which he may deem
proper, provided he does not alter its form or substance; but he shall
have no right to be indemnified therefor. He may, however, remove
such improvements should it be possible to do so without injury to the
property (Article 579, Civil Code).
property.
A.10.
SUGGESTED ANSWERS:
No, X Inc.’s position is not tenable. The Water Code provides that
lower estates are only obliged to receive waters which naturally and
without intervention of man descend from higher estates (Art. 50,
Water Code of the Philippines). The Code also provides that the owner
of the higher estate cannot make works which will increase the natural
END OF PART 1
BRIMPSAMSON2020
PART II
B.11.
(a) What are the substantive requisites for the action to prosper? Do
they obtain in this case? Explain. (3%)
SUGGESTED ANSWER:
The requisites for an action to quiet the title obtain in this case,
since A, B, and C are the registered owners of the parcel of land, having
inherited the same from their father Mr. R, and the Deed of Absolute
Sale, which cast a cloud on their title may be shown to be invalid or
inoperative [Heirs of Delfin v. Heirs of Bacud, G.R. No. 187633, April 4,
2016].
(b) Within what period should A, B, and C file the complaint for
quieting of title? Explain. (2%)
SUGGESTED ANSWER:
The action for quieting of title does not prescribe, because the
plaintiffs are in possession of the land [Heirs of Uberas v. CFI, October
30, 1978].
(c) Assuming that Band C are residing abroad, may A, without the
knowledge of Band C, file the complaint for quieting of title on
behalf of all the heirs? Explain. (2%)
SUGGESTED ANSWER:
Yes, A may file the complaint, provided that he files the same for
the co-ownership. Anyone of the co-owners may bring such an action
in ejectment (Article 87 of the Civil Code), even without joining all the
other co-owners as co-plaintiffs, because the suit is deemed to be
instituted for the benefit of all, assuming A wins the case.
Parenthetically, if A loses in the action to quiet title, it will if not affect
B and C, because the Court did not acquire jurisdiction over their
BRIMPSAMSON2020
persons. The Court further held that if the action is for the benefit of
the plaintiff alone, such that he claims the possession for himself and
not for the co-ownership, the action will not prosper [Celino v. Heirs of
Alejo, G.R. No. 1618117, July 30, 2004].
B.12.
Who are the heirs entitled to inherit from D and how much should
each receive? Explain. (5%)
SUGGESTED ANSWER:
B.13.
SUGGESTED ANSWER:
BRIMPSAMSON2020
B.14.
SUGGESTED ANSWER:
SUGGESTED ANSWER:
BRIMPSAMSON2020
B.15.
Mr. P offered to sell his Manila Polo Club shares to Ms. Q for
P2,500,000.00. Ms. Q accepted on the condition that their agreement will
not take effect until after one (1) year. Mr. P then acceded and both of
them shook hands. Excited about the prospect of acquiring Mr. P's
shares, Ms. Q approached the former and offered to pay him an earnest
money equivalent to 1% of the purchase price, which Mr. P accepted.
After one (l) year, Ms. Q approached Mr. P seeking the enforcement of
their agreement for Mr. P to sell his shares to her. Mr. P refused to honor
their agreement, claiming that the same was covered by the Statute of
Frauds because it was not reduced into writing and hence, unenforceable.
SUGGESTED ANSWER:
B.16.
After more than a month from the completion date of the project, C
Corp. remained unpaid. Claiming that it was suffering from serious
BRIMPSAMSON2020
F or its part, S Company refused the claim and raised the defense
that the extension of time granted by C Corp. to D, Inc. without its
consent released it from liability.
(a) Will the defense of S Company against the claim hold water?
Explain. (3%)
SUGGESTED ANSWER:
Yes, the defense holds. The Court has held that the provisions of
the Civil Code on Guarantee, other than the benefit of excussion, are
applicable and available to the surety. One of the provisions of the
Civil Code on Guarantee is Art. 2079 which provides that an extension
granted to the debtor by the creditor without the consent of the
guarantor extinguishes the guaranty. Here, the parties entered into a
surety agreement; thus, the extension granted without the consent of S
Company extinguished the suretyship [Autocorp Group vs. Intra Strata
Assurance Corporation, G.R. No. 166662, June 27, 2008; 556 SCRA 250].
satisfy the claim before proceeding against it, will this defense
prosper? Explain. (2%)
SUGGESTED ANSWER:
No, the defense will not prosper. Art. 2047 provides that if a
person binds himself solidarily with the principal debtor, the
provisions of Section 4, Chapter 3, Title I of this Book shall be
observed and in such case the contract is called a suretyship. Under
Article 2059, the excussion shall not take place if he (the guarantor) has
bound himself solidarily with the debtor, S Company, therefore,
cannot refuse the claim on the ground that C Corp. has yet to exhaust
D, Inc.'s property to satisfy the claim before proceeding against it.
B.17.
surreptitiously broke open O's safe and stole the duplicate copy of the
said OCT. F then forged a Deed of Absolute Sale and made it appear that
O sold the property to him. Consequently, F was able to have OCT No. 0-
1234 cancelled and in lieu thereof, a new title, Transfer Certificate of Title
(TCT) No. T-4321, was issued in his name.
(a) Will the prayer of O for the return of the subject property
prosper? Explain. (3%)
SUGGESTED ANSWER:
SUGGESTED ANSWER:
ALTERNATIVE ANSWER:
B.18.
the extinguishment of the loan contract between them. As such, the real
estate mortgage, being a mere accessory contract to the principal loan,
was necessarily extinguished.
SUGGESTED ANSWER:
Yes, Mr. A may validly claim legal compensation. The Civil Code
provides that when all the requisites mentioned in Article 1279 are
present, compensation takes effect by operation of law, and
extinguishes both debts to the concurrent amount, even though the
creditors and debtors are not aware of the compensation (Article 1290,
Civil Code).
(b) May Mr. A validly foreclose on the real estate mortgage
even
without prior demand to Mr. B? Explain. (2%)
SUGGESTED ANSWER:
Yes, Mr. A may validly foreclose the mortgage. The Court has
declared that a provision on waiver of notice or demand is legal and
valid. Although the Civil Code provides that one incurs in delay or is
in default from the time the obligor demands the fulfillment of the
obligation from the obligee (Article 1169), the law expressly provides
that demand is not necessary under certain circumstances, and one of
these circumstances is when the parties expressly waive demand. Since
Mr. B waived the requirement of prior demand in the promissory note,
he was considered in delay or in default when he failed to pay the loan
obligation [Sps. Agner, v. BPI Family Savings Bank, Inc., G.R. No.
182963, June 3, 2013; BPI v. CA, 523 Phil. 548 (2006)].
BRIMPSAMSON2020
SUGGESTED ANSWER :
ALTERNATIVE ANSWER:
B.19.
SUGGESTED ANSWER:
BRIMPSAMSON2020
ALTERNATIVE ANSWER:
B.20.
SUGGESTED ANSWER 1:
SUGGESTED ANSWER 2:
SUGGESTED ANSWER:
END OF PART II