CIVIL LAW

1. Briefly explain whether the following contracts are valid, rescissible,

unenforceable, or void:
(a) A contract of sale between Lana and Andy wherein 16-year old
Lana agreed to sell her grand piano for ₱5,000.-00. (2%)
(b) A contract of lease of the Philippine Sea entered by and between
Mitoy and Elsa. (2%)
(c) A barter of toys executed by 12-year old Clarence and 10-year old
Czar (2%)
(d) A sale entered by Barri and Garri, both minors, which their
parents later ratified. (2%)
(e) Jenny's sale of her car to Celestine in order to evade attachment by
Jenny's creditors. (2%)

2. Zeny and Nolan were best friends for a long time already. Zeny borrowed
₱10,000.00 from Nolan, evidenced by a promissory note whereby Zeny
promised to pay the loan "once his means permit." Two months later,
they had a quarrel that broke their long-standing friendship.

Nolan seeks your advice on how to collect from Zeny despite the tenor of
the promissory note. What will your advice be? Explain your answer.
(3%)

3. Bernard and Dorothy lived together as common-law spouses although

they are both capacitated to marry. After one year of cohabitation,
Dorothy went abroad to work in Dubai as a hair stylist and regularly sent
money to Bernard. With the money, Bernard bought a lot. For a good
price, Bernard sold the lot. Dorothy came to know about the acquisition
and sale of the lot and filed a suit to nullify the sale because she did not
give her consent to the sale.

[a] Will Dorothy's suit prosper? Decide with reasons. (2.5%)

[b] Suppose Dorothy was jobless and did not contribute money to the
acquisition of the lot and her efforts consisted mainly in the care and
maintenance of the family and household, is her consent to the sale a
prerequisite to its validity? Explain. (2.5%)

4. Pedro bought a parcel of land described as Cadastral Lot No. 123 and the
title was issued to his name. Juan also bought a lot in the same place,
which is described as Cadastral Lot No. 124. Pedro hired a geodetic
engineer to determine the actual location of Lot No. 123 but for some
 reason, the engineer pointed to Lot No. 124 by mistake. Pedro hired a
contractor to construct his house and the latter put up a sign stating the
name of the owner of the project and the construction permit number. It
took more than a year before the house was constructed. When Pedro
was already residing in his house, Juan told him to remove his house
because it was built on his (Juan's) lot.

Juan filed a Complaint for Recovery of Possession and prayed that the
house be removed because Pedro is a builder in bad faith. Pedro filed his
Answer with Counterclaim that he is entitled to the payment of the value
of the house plus damages because he is a builder in good faith and that
Juan is guilty of estoppel and laches.

[a] If Pedro is a builder in good faith, what are the rights given to Juan
under the law? Explain. (2.5%)
[b] If Pedro is a builder in bad faith, what are the rights given to Juan
under the law? Explain. (2.5%)

5. Ellen entrusted her title over the lot where she is residing to Patrick, her
nephew, for safekeeping because of her poor eyesight. Patrick, a gambler,
prepared a Special Power of Attorney empowering him to mortgage the
lot. Ellen's signature was forged. With the help of Julia who represented
herself as Ellen, Mega Bank granted a loan to Patrick secured by a
mortgage on Ellen's lot. Due to non-payment, Mega Bank foreclosed the
mortgage and was declared the highest bidder. Title was later registered
in the name of the bank. When Ellen was notified that she should vacate
the premises, she filed a complaint to nullify the loan with mortgage, the
auction sale and the title of Mega Bank on the ground that the bank is
not a mortgagee in good faith. Decide the case with reasons. (5%)

6. State whether the following marital unions are valid, void, or voidable,
and give the corresponding justifications for your answer:
(a) Ador and Becky's marriage wherein Ador was afflicted with AIDS prior
to the marriage. (2%)
(b) Carlos' marriage to Dina which took place after Dina had poisoned her
previous husband Edu in order to free herself from any impediment in
order to live with Carlos. (2%)
(c) Eli and Fely's marriage solemnized seven years after the
disappearance of Chona, Eli's previous spouse, after the plane she
had boarded crashed in the West Philippine Sea. (2%)
(d) David who married Lina immediately the day after obtaining a judicial
decree annulling his prior marriage to Elisa. (2%)
 (e) Marriage of Zoren and Carmina who did not secure a marriage license
prior to their wedding but lived together as husband and wife for 10
years without any legal impediment to marry. (2%)

7. Distinguish the following:

(a) Antichresis from usufruct? (3%)
(b) Commodatum from mutuum. (3%)

8. Tyler owns a lot that is enclosed by the lots of Riley to the North and
East, of Dylan to the South, and of Reece to the West. The current route
to the public highway is a kilometer's walk through the northern lot of
Riley, but the route is a rough road that gets muddy during the rainy
season, and is inconvenient because it is only 2.5 meters wide. Tyler's
nearest access to the public highway would be through the southern lot
of Dylan.

May Dylan be legally required to afford to Tyler a right of way through his
property? Explain your answer. (4%)

9. Marco and Gina were married in 1989. Ten years later, or in 1999, Gina
left Marco and lived with another man, leaving their two children of school
age with Marco. When Marco needed money for their children's education
he sold a parcel of land registered in his name, without Gina's consent,
which he purchased before his marriage. Is the sale by Marco valid, void
or voidable? Explain with legal basis. (4%)

10. Iya and Betty owed Jun P500,000.00 for advancing their equity in a
corporation they joined as incorporators. Iya and Betty bound themselves
solidarily liable for the debt. Later, Iya and Jun became sweethearts so
Jun condoned the debt of P500,000.00. May lya demand from Betty
~250,000.00 as her share in the debt? Explain legal with basis. (2%)

11. Juancho, Don and Pedro borrowed ~150,000.00 from their friend
Cita to put up an internet cafe orally promising to pay her the full amount
after one year. Because of their lack of business know-how, their business
collapsed. Juancho and Don ended up penniless but Pedro was able to
borrow money and put up a restaurant which did well. Can Cita demand
that Pedro pay the entire obligation since he, together with the two others,
promised to pay the amount in full after one year? Defend your answer.
(2%)
 12. On March 27, 1980, Cornelio filed an application for land
registration involving a parcel of agricultural land that he had bought from
Isaac identified as Lot No. 2716 with an area of one (1) hectare. During the
trial, Cornelio claimed that he and his predecessors-in-interest had been
in open, continuous, uninterrupted, public and adverse possession and
occupation of the land for more than thirty (30) years. He likewise
introduced in evidence a certification dated February 12, 1981 citing a
presidential declaration to the effect that on June 14, 1980, agricultural
lands of the public domain, including the subject matter of the application,
were declared alienable and disposable agricultural land. (4%)

(A) If you are the judge, will you grant the application for land registration
of Cornelio? (2%)

(B) Can Cornelio acquire said agricultural land through acquisitive

prescription, whether ordinary or extraordinary? (2%)

13. Spouses Esteban and Maria decided to raise their two (2) nieces,
Faith and Hope, both minors, as their own children after the parents of
the minors died in a vehicular accident.

Ten (10) years after, Esteban died. Maria later on married her boss Daniel,
a British national who had been living in the Philippines for two (2) years.

With the permission of Daniel, Maria filed a petition for the adoption of
Faith and Hope. She did not include Daniel as her co-petitioner because
for Maria, it was her former husband Esteban who raised the kids.

If you are the judge, how will you resolve the petition? (4%)

14. Timothy executed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with

Kristopher setting up a business venture covering three (3) fastfood stores
known as "Hungry Toppings" that will be established at Mall Uno, Mall
Dos, and Mall Tres.

The pertinent provisions of the MOA provides:

1. Timothy shall be considered a partner with thirty percent (30%) share

in all of the stores to be set up by Kristopher;

2. The proceeds of the business, after deducting expenses, shall be used

to pay the principal amount of P500,000.00 and the interest therein which
is to be computed based on the bank rate, representing the bank loan
secured by Timothy;
 3. The net profits, if any, after deducting the expenses and payments of
the principal and interest shall be divided as follows: seventy percent (70%)
for Kristopher and thirty percent (30%) for Timothy;

4. Kristopher shall have a free hand in running the business without any
interference from Timothy, his agents, representatives, or assigns , and
should such interference happen, Kristopher has the right to buy back the
share of Timothy less the amounts already paid on the principal and to
dissolve the MOA; and

5. Kristopher shall submit his monthly sales report in connection with the
business to Timothy.

What is the contractual relationship between Timothy and Kristopher? (4%)

15. Joe Miguel, a well-known treasure hunter in Mindanao, executed a

Special Power of Attorney (SPA) appointing his nephew, John Paul, as his
attorney-infact. John Paul was given the power to deal with treasure-
hunting activities on Joe Miguel’s land and to file charges against those
who may enter it without the latter’s authority. Joe Miguel agreed to give
John Paul forty percent (40%) of the treasure that may be found on the
land.

Thereafter, John Paul filed a case for damages and injunction against Lilo
for illegally entering Joe Miguel’s land. Subsequently, he hired the legal
services of Atty. Audrey agreeing to give the latter thirty percent (30%) of
Joe Miguel’s share in whatever treasure that may be found in the land.

Dissatisfied however with the strategies implemented by John Paul, Joe

Miguel unilaterally revoked the SPA granted to John Paul.

Is the revocation proper? (4%)