Banco Territorial y Agrícola v. Erwin

10 P.R. 388
Supreme Court of Puerto Rico·Decided April 9, 1906·No. No. 15·Published

Opinions

Mr. Justice Hernández

delivered the opinion of the court.

On September 30, 1902, the Banco Territorial y Agrícola de Puerto Eico brought an executory action in the District Court of Humacao under the special procedure provided for by the Mortgage Law for the recovery of Mortgage debts,, [389]*389against the agricultural partnership of Cintrón Hermanos to collect the amount of a mortgage constituted, by public deed executed April 29, 1895, before Notary Marido Guerra, upon the “Laura” plantation and adjoining properties situated in the municipality of Yabucoa.

Under the said proceeding the first and second public sales were held, no bidders appearing at either of them, and by petition filed March 18, 1903, the bank asked that the properties be awarded to it, which petition was granted by an order dated the 26th of the same month, and a certificate thereof was recorded in the Registry of Property of Humacao.

Under date of April 28, 1903, Eulalia and Margarita Cin-trón and the Estate of José P. Cintrón, as members of the agricultural partnership of Cintrón Hermanos, brought suit against the Banco Territorial -y Agrícola in the District Court of San Juan, praying:

First. For the annulment of the adjudication made to the said bank by the District Court of Humacao of the “Laura” Central, together with the adjoining properties and everything appurtenant thereto, and that all of the proceedings had to bring about that result, as well as all acts performed in consequence of said adjudication, be declared null and void and without effect, and that matters be restored to the condition in which they were prior to the commencement of the summary proceedings against the partnership of Cintrón Her-manos.

Second. That the said bank be adjudged to indemnify the members of the said partnership, Cintrón Hermanos, for all damages and losses suffered by reason of the said proceedings and its management, such damages to be assessed by experts appointed by the' parties, and a third expert to be designated by the court in case of a disagreement of the two experts so appointed.

Third. That the said bank be adjudged to pay the owners of the properties awarded, not only the proceeds of the prod-[390]*390nets' thereof, but those which should have been produced from the time the bank took charge of the management.

Fourth. That the experts to be appointed by the parties, and the third expert to be designated by the court in case of a disagreement, be directed to proceed to a liquidation of all the, credits held by the bank against Cintrón Hermanos, whether secured by mortgage or otherwise, in order that the true amount thereof might be known, for the payment of which together with the products of the said properties (the bank) should continue in the management thereof under the conditions stipulated in the deed of May 23, 1900, unless some other agreement should be reached by the parties in view of the result of such liquidation.

The District Court of San Juan rendered judgment on June 28, 1904, from which judgment the defendants took an appeal; and this Supreme Court, in deciding the appeal on June 24th of the year last past, held that the summary compulsory proceedings prosecuted in the District Court of Hu-macao from the holding of the second sale, which .took place in Guayama on March 17, 1903, were null and void, restoring-said proceeding to its status at that time, and dismissed the other prayers of the plaintiff as contained in the complaint, without prejudice to his rights in regard to the accounts of the management which should be rendered by the Banco Territorial y Agrícola from the date on which the last accounting was rendered, in accordance with the agreement of the parties contained in the public deed of May 23, 1900.

The bank filed a motion in the District Court of Humacao on the 24th of the following month of July, asking that, in compliance with the judgment of this Supreme (hurt, the summary compulsory proceedings be proceeded with in accordance with the Mortgage Law and its Regulations, and that, in virtue thereof, the marshal be directed to announce within' twenty days a second public sale of the property foreclosed upon, by posting notices in the customary places in TIumacao and Yabucoa, and publishing the same in a news[391]*391paper of general circulation, for the price agreed upon in the contract, but with a reduction of 25 per cent of the valuation, and with the other formalities of the first public sale and those required by the Mortgage Law and its Regulations. This motion was granted by the said court, and an order was issued to the marshal on August 10th of the said year 1905, directing that a second public sale he held.

On the 19th of the said month of August, Cintrón Her-manos filed a petition in the said court praying:

First. That the marshal or some other person prepare an inventory giving an assessed valuation of all the property at that date forming part of the “Laura” Central in order that the said court might adopt such measures as necessary to protect the interests of Cintrón Hermanos in case of another public sale, and in order that the said Cintrón Hermanos might have an opportunity to make objections to such inventory and valuation, and that the court might hear the same.

Second. That it be ordered that a liquidation of the accounts of the management of the said property by the bank, from June 30, 1902, be made before the secretary or an arbitrator, and that such liquidation, together with any objections or exceptions which Cintrón Hermanos might make thereto, be presented to the court for a final determination and adjustment thereof.

Third. That the Registrar of Property of Humacao be directed to cancel in the registry of property the record of adjudication made in favor of the bank by virtue of the compulsory proceedings had.

Fourth. That no new public sale be authorized or permitted until such liquidation shall have been made, or until this point shall have been definitely decided by the court, until a new inventory and valuation shall have been prepared, and until the properties shall have been restored to the same condition and status that they possessed on March 17, 1903, the date of the second public sale, which was annulled in conformity with the decision of this Supreme Court.

[392]*392In view of the foregoing petition the Banco Territorial y Agrícola filed another motion on the 23d of the said month of August, asking that the motion of Cintron Hermanos he withdrawn from the record, because the said Cintrón Hermanos was not a party to the special mortgage proceeding, and because the case was not comprised within any of the provisions of article 175 of the Regulations for the execution of the Mortgage Law, aside from the fact that the inventory and valuation of the properties had nothing whatever to do with the second sale.

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Banco Territorial y Agrícola v. Erwin, 10 P.R. 388 (prsupreme 1906).

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