Gajero v. Valedón Maldonado

54 P.R. 321
Supreme Court of Puerto Rico·Decided February 17, 1939·No. No. 7699·Published

Opinion

Mb. Justice De Jesús

delivered the opinion of the Court.

On November 21, 1935, by public deed No. 178 executed before notary public Felipe Colón Díaz, plaintiff-appellee sold to appellant a certain farm of 203 cuerdas, which is described in the bill of complaint, for the agreed price of $10,000 and seventy shares of the Federal Land Bank for $350. Of the $10,350, amount of the two sales, the purchaser kept in his possession an amount to pay off certain liens on the property, such as mortgages, taxes, etc., and he deducted $661, in which amount the value of the last crop raised by the vendor was estimated, which the parties agreed should belong to the purchaser, since the crop had been collected after negotiations had been entered into for the sale of the farm. After these deductions had been made, the purchaser owed the vendor, from the purchase price of the farm and shares of the Federal Land Bank, the amount of $2,664.68, which he bound himself to pay as follows: $400.00 each December, beginning in the year 1936, with interest at 5% per annum, interest payable with each installment of the principal, and with the additional condition that if for any circumstance defendant could not pay a dme installment of $400, payment would be extended for another year but “he must pay the [323] interest on that due installment”, and the following year lie should pay at-least one of the two installments due and interest, until the full amount of the debt is paid.

The fifth clause of the aforesaid deed No. 178 states as follows:

’Tt is hereby explained that though among the liens there is a promissory note to bearer guarantee with mortgage for the sum of $397.81, it was agreed when it was made that Mrs. Gajero owed $755.72, and that she would pay one-half of this- amount with the coffee crop not later than by the end of the coming December, which should be strictly complied with; and the amount of the note on the last day of December, 1936, but if for any reason she does' not pay and Mr. Valedón has to do it, he shall deduct said payment from what he owes her.”

To guarantee the payment of the principal and an additional credit of $200 for attorney’s fees, expenses and costs, the appellant purchaser executed a voluntary mortgage in favor of the vendor appellee on the farm of 203 cuerdas subject of the contract of sale and on another property of thirty cuerdas and 3,603 meters of the purchaser, each and both of the farms being liable for the entire amount owed, as well as the additional credit for interest, costs, expenses and attorney’s fees in case of foreclosure. Besides that which appears in the fifth clause copied above, the following was also a condition of said mortgage: That in case of nonpayment of two installments as agreed upon, or of the interest corresponding to one year, in either case, the mortgage would bécome due and the creditor would be able to proceed judicially to collect whatever was owing to her as principal and interest, as well as costs, expenses and attorney’s fees.

Later, by deed No. 56 of April 24, 1936, before the same notary public Colón Díaz, the aforesaid deed No. 178 was modified by substituting another property of eighteen cuer-das of the purchaser for the farm of thirty cuerdas. This other property was subject to a first mortgage in favor of the Hurricane Relief Commission of Puerto Rico, for the [324] sum of $1,000. It was also agreed upon in said deed No. 56 that plaintiff should credit defendant with the amount of $150, the debt being so reduced to $2,514.68, and this total amount was guaranteed by the property of 203 cuerdas and by the aforesaid property of 18 cuerdas.

Besides the liens created by the contract of sale, defendant-appellant issued a promissory note to the order of appel-lee for the sum of $460, due on March 30, 1937, in which the following is set forth: “I promise to pay the amount of this note with at least ten quarts of milk which I bind myself to deliver daily for a price of 10‡ a quart until the note is paid in full.”

Between the months of November, 1935, and October, 1936, appellant delivered milk to the appellee for the sum of $184.79, there being a balance of $275.21 still owing on the promissory note.

Defendant-appellant did not pay the installment of the purchase price which became due on December 31, 1936, nor did he pay the interest for said year, also due on said day. Neither has he paid either of the installments due to the Federal Land Bank.

Considering the purchase price due and as the term of the promissory note for $460 had expired, plaintiff filed her bill of complaint in this case on April 29, 1937, to collect said liens.

Defendant-appellant herein filed a demurrer and answered the bill of complaint, at the same time alleging that the mortgage which gives rise to the first cause of action was not due from a lack of payment of interest for the year ending on December, 1936, to the contrary alleging: “That plaintiff agreed with defendant to extend the collection of said accrued interest until the coffee crop of defendant which he-had delivered to the Banco Cafetero, was liquidated, which' has in part taken place eight days ago, the complete liquidation being still pending, and therefore defendant considers said extension has not terminated as yet.”

[325] As a special defense lie alleged: That Plaintiff is estop-ped from demanding performance of the contract, because she has not complied with the conditions imposed upon her by the contract of sale.

In his answer to the second cause of action defendant accepted having executed and delivered the promissory note for $460 and $50 for expenses, costs and attorney’s fees in case of judicial proceedings; that said promissory note was to become due on March, 1937, but he denied that he was owing plaintiff the sum of $275.21 claimed on said note, averring on the contrary that plaintiff agreed to receive and received as a credit to said note, fruits, specially oranges, that the defendant delivered at different times for value of $31.15.

That the promissory note or the part thereof which he owes is not due because plaintiff and defendant agreed to defer and did defer the collection of the balance of said promissory note until defendant was paid for a coffee crop which he had already delivered to the Banco Cafetero and which had not been paid for at the time when he answered the complaint.

That he is not bound to pay the $50 stipulated in the promissory note for costs, expenses and attorney’s fees because as the promissory note has not fallen due, having been deferred as aforesaid, defendant has given no grounds on which the plaintiff could proceed judicially to collect said debt.

The trial was held and on January 5, 1938, the judgment appealed from was rendered. It provides as follows:

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Gajero v. Valedón Maldonado, 54 P.R. 321 (prsupreme 1939).

54 P.R. 321 (Gajero v. Valedón Maldonado) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.