ACTIVITY NO.

1. Bruce is the registered owner, of a parcel of land with a building thereon and is in peaceful
possession thereof. He pays the real estate taxes and collects the rentals therefrom. Later,
Catalino, the only brother of Bruce, filed a petition where he, misrepresenting to be the attorney-
in-fact of Bruce and falsely alleging that the certificate of title was lost, succeeded in obtaining a
second owner’s duplicate copy of the title and then had the same transferred in his name through
a simulated deed of sale in his favor. Catalino then mortgaged the property to Desiderio who had
the mortgage annotated on the title. Upon learning of the fraudulent transaction, Bruce filed a
complaint against Catalino and Desiderio to have the title of Catalino and the mortgage in favor of
Desiderio declared null and void. Will the complaint prosper, or will the title of Catalino and the
mortgage to Desiderio be sustained?

2. Distinguish a contract of chattel mortgage from a contract of pledge.

3. A van owned by Orlando and driven by Diego, while negotiating a downhill slope of a city road,
suddenly gained speed, obviously beyond the authorized limit in the area, and bumped a car in
front of it, causing severe damage to the care and serious injuries to its passengers. Orlando was
not in the car at the time of the incident. The car owner and the injured passengers sued Orlando
and Diego for damages caused by Diego’s negligence. In their defense, Diego claims that the
downhill slope caused the van to gain speed and that, as he stepped on the brakes to check the
acceleration, the brakes locked, causing the van to go even faster and eventually to hit the car in
front of it. Orlando and Diego contend that the sudden malfunction of the van’s brake system is a
fortuitous even and that, therefore, they are exempt from any liability. Is this contention tenable?
Explain.

4. OJ was employed as professional driver of MM Transit bus owned by Mr. BT. In the course of his
work, OJ hit a pedestrian who was seriously injured and later died in the hospital as a result of the
accident. The victim’s heirs sued the driver and the owner of the bus for damages. Is there a
presumption in this case that Mr. BT, the owner, had been negligent? If so, is the presumption
absolute or not? Explain.