Arpin v. Valdés

14 P.R. 516
Supreme Court of Puerto Rico·Decided June 9, 1908·No. No. 231·Published

Opinion

Mr. Justice Hernández

delivered the opinion of the court.

This action was initiated by a complaint filed in the District Court of San Jnan by Arsenio L. Arpin against-Ramón Valdés Cobián and Pedro del Valle Franco.

In this complaint Arpin alleges the following fundamental facts in support of his right of action:

“1. That .by public deed executed in the city of San Juan on May 20, 1899, before Notary Maurico ' Guerra Mondragon, the plaintiff purchased of Guillermo David Noble y Ruiz two rural estates, one having an area of 3 cuerdas and another of 75 cu,erdas, both of them on La Plata River, and situated, respectively, in barrios ‘Cedrito' and ‘Doña Elena,’ within the municipality of Comerlo, the sale having been made upon the payment of the price agreed on by the parties, whereby Arpin acquired the ownership of such estates free from all encumbrances or liens under said deed, as recorded in the Registry of Property of Caguas.
“2. That the defendant, Valdés Cobián, brought an action in the Court of First Instance of Caguas against Pedro del Valle Franeo and Guillermo David Noble seeking the acknowledgment of a rural easement on the estate of the said Valle Franeo and Noble, basing his claim on a deed executed in Bayamón on October 6, 1898, before Notary Tomás Valdejuly y Calatraveño, by Pedro del Valle Franeo and Ramón Valdés Cobián, which deed set forth that Valle Franeo had certain property or land on the banks of La Plata River in the district’called ‘El Salto,’ without describing such property or establishing its boundaries by cardinal points, but only adding below the signature a sketch alleged to represent the estate of Pedro del Valle Franco; nor does the deed set forth the titles of Pedro del Valle Franeo to such property. It was stipulated in the document referred to that Pedro del Valle Franco gave permission to the other party, Ramón Valdés Cobián, to apply for the use of the waters of La Plata River, and to make such works within his lands as he might consider necessary, without any limitation whatsover respecting the plans of Valdés, which permission of del Valle was not to give to any other person for which Valdés expressed his gratitude to del Valle.
[518]*518"3. That said deed of October 6, 1898, does not contain any description of the estates constitning the subject matter of the contract, nor any determination of the works which del Yalle Franco permits Yaldés to construct, nor any indication of the part of the estates upon which he is to execute the works, nor any explanation of the right or authority that Yalle Franco had to permit Yaldés to apply or not for the use of the water of La Plata River while contracting the illegal and void obligation of not selling or assigning to another person lands which , are not described.
“4. That by said deed of October 6, 1898, no servitude or charge whatsoever was laid on the estate mentioned, nor did the plaintiff Arpin take any part therein, nor was any record of it made in the registry of property, no was it recorded at the date of the execution of the deed of May 20, 1898 (1899?).
“5. That Ramón Yaldés, having obtained a judgment in his favor in the action prosecuted by him against Pedro del Yalle Franco and Guillermo David Noble, took steps to insure its effectiveness with the intention of establishing a servitude of right of way or use upon the two estates acquired by Arpin; and according to the information and belief of the plaintiff, Yaldés acquired the record or entry of such servitude making the estates of Arpin to appear to be subject to a servitude which does not and never has existed, and thereby causing Arpin considerable damage by reason of his inability to make use of the water of La Plata River for industrial purposes, which, as the owner of a riparian estate, he was entitled to use, the resulting damages being -estimated at $20,000.
“Arpin closed his complaint with the prayer that judgment be rendered to the effect that the deed of October 6, 1898, does not contain any constitution of a servitude nor any charge or property right which affects or could affect the rural estates acquired by Arpin, and that in any event the deed referred to and the contract contained therein are null and void, the records thereof in the registry of property being also null; and, further, that Ramón Yaldés Cobián be adjudged to pay damages to the plaintiff in the sum of $20,000.

Ramón Valdés made the following allegations in his answer to this complaint:

“1. That by deed of October 6, 1898, executed before Notary Tomás Yaldejuly, of Bayamón, Pedro del Yalle Franco, at that time the possessor of lands which the plaintiff alleges he acquired of Gui[519]*519llermo David Noble, authorized Valdés to construct thereon such works as might be necessary to make use of the water of La Plata River, thus establishing a real servitude of aqueduct, and binding himself furthermore not to grant similar authority .nor to sell said lands to any other person.
“2. That del Valle Franco, taking advantage of the fact that the deed of October 6, 1898, had not been recorded in the registry of property owing to defects in form, instead of doing the needful to cure them, as had been agreed, conveyed to Guillermo David Noble, on November 8, 1898, the two tracts of land referred to by Arpin in his complaint, free from all charges.
“3. That an action having been brought by Ramón Valdés against Pedro del Valle Franco and Guillermo David Noble, to compel them to present in the Registry of Property of Caguas the deeds referring to the lands mentioned, and to execute such deed as was necessary to correct the defects which prevented the record of his easement, or that it be done by the court upon the failure of the defendants to do so, the Supreme Court of this Island rendered judgment on December 30, 1899, granting the prayers of Ramón Valdés Cobián, thereby recognizing the validity' and efficiency of the deed of October 6, 1898, and that a property right of easement was constituted thereby on the two tracts of land referred to in the complaint, and consequently these acts partake of the character of res judicata, besides the fact that more than four years have elapsed between October 6, 1898, and the date the complaint was filed.
“4. That in one of the conclusions of law of the said judgment of the Supreme Court.it was held that Guillermo Dávid Noble was well aware of the deed of October 6, 1898, at the time del Valle executed in his favor that of November 9 of the same year, and therefore the former prejudiced him and he was bound to respect the easement constituted therein in favor of Valdés and to execute the deed necessary to cure the defects which prevented the record of said easement in the registry of property.
“5. That the plaintiff, Arsenio L. Arpin, also knew of the deed of October 6, 1898, and of the action in which judgment was rendered on December 30, 1899, when Guillermo David Noble, foreseeing that the judgment would be against him, conveyed to Arpin by deed of May 20, 1899, the possession of the two tracts of land in question, for Dá-vid Noble was the emissary or agent of Arpin in the contract of purchase and sale of November 9, 1898, by which Noble acquired from del Valle the same lands which he afterwards conveyed to Arpin.
[520]*520“6.

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