Marques Arbona v. Colón

62 P.R. 190
CourtSupreme Court of Puerto Rico
DecidedJune 8, 1943
DocketNo. 8690
StatusPublished

This text of 62 P.R. 190 (Marques Arbona v. Colón) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Puerto Rico primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Marques Arbona v. Colón, 62 P.R. 190 (prsupreme 1943).

Opinion

Mr. Chief Justice Del Toro

delivered the opinion of the court.

This is a suit for revendication. It is alleged in the complaint that the plaintiff is owner of a 7.7f)-acre estate, located in Hato Ahajo, Areeibo; that Francisca Gómez, the ancestor of the defendants, was owner of an adjacent estate the area of which was 19 acres and 2,447.79 meters; that in September 1932 the plaintiff and Francisca Grómez, by mutual agreement, proceeded to settle the boundaries of said estates, using the services of‘Surveyor Arturo Puig. The estates were surveyed, their boundaries were rectified, and each party remained in possession of Ms respective estate as reflected by the survey; that after Francisca Grómez died, her heirs, the defendants, took possession of their ancestor’s estate, also taking possession, without the consent and over the objection of the plaintiff, of a strip of land of the plaintiff 72.10 meters by 46.46 meters, bounded on the north by a street, on the [191]*191south and east by land belonging to the defendants, and on the west by an estate of José Matienzo. And that even though they had been requested to deliver said strip of land to the plaintiff, the defendants have refused to do so, causing him damages in the amount of $1,000.

The defendants filed their answer, generally and specifically denying the facts alleged in the complaint, and alleging as special defenses that the plaintiff is not the sole owner of the 7.7f)-acre estate; that neither their ancestor nor they effected any settlement of boundaries or entered into any agreement whatsoever with the plaintiff in relation with the estates involved; that the estate with an area of 19 acres and 2,447.79 meters was inherited by the defedants, and other persons, who have not been made party defendants in the suit; that the strip of land that the plaintiff is trying to revendiente is a part of said estate, and has always been in possession of the defendants and their ancestor, as owners of the same, in a quiet, peaceable, and continuous way, and that they allege in their favor the provisions of §1863 in relation with §1859 of the Civil Code.

The issue having thus been joined, the suit went to trial. Both parties introduced evidence, and the court entered judgment against the defendants, stating that the lot claimed by the plaintiff is his jjroperty, and that therefore the defendants have to surrender it to him and pay the costs of the suit, including $100 for attorney’s fees.

The defendants appealed to this court, assigning eight errors. We will only have to decide the seventh to reverse the judgment. It refers to the one committed by the lower court in weighing the evidence.

The evidence of the plaintiff consisted of a public deed, a map, and the testimony of the plaintiff and of the surveyors Arturo Puig, José it. Lacomba, and Ramón Gelabert, and that of the defendants, of a map, various documents, and the testimony of some witnesses.

[192]*192Ln weighing' said evidence, the court a quo in its opinion ■and judgment said:

“In 1932 Francisca Gómez was the owner of an estate bounded on the north by another estate belonging to the plaintiff Antonio Marques Arbona. Due to the location of both properties, near the city, they are suitable for urbanization, as the railroad tracks are situated to the east, and the highway to the north, the municipality having also a small interest in adjacent lands.
"With the purpose in mind of determining the correct boundaries of both estates, and of fixing the exact extent of a street that was opened between both urbanizations and that runs along the northern part of Francisca Gomez’s estate, they agreed to have a survey, which was done by surveyor Puig, a person worthy of credit, who testified at the trial. The map introduced in evidence by the plaintiff in relation with said testimony, besides what Marques had already testified to, substantially explains what occurred in the settlement of boundaries and the benefit obtained from it by both urbanizations.
“Taking as a basis plaintiff’s title, that is, measuring from the highway to the south, we arrived at the conclusion that Marques’ property was a good number of square meters short.
“He (Marques) donated 721 meters of his land so that one-half of the street could he built, and as Mrs. Francisca Gómez benefited by the whole street, with land which was not her property, Marques’ property had to be extended in its southern boundary by taking a 72 X 46 meters rectangle from the northwestern corner of Francisca Gomez’s property, to compensate for the survey. Thus things remained, both parties took possession of their respective lots in accordance with the setting of boundaries.
“After the survey was made, Francisca Gómez died, and now the defendants, who are her heirs, refuse to comply with the settlement made by their ancestor, and by their acts detain the possession of the aforementioned rectangle described in the sixth paragraph of the complaint.
“The defendants insist that Francisca Gómez entered into no formal agreement whatsoever with Marques as to the settlement of boundaries. We are convinced by the evidence that, even though Mrs. Gómez was not personally, present during the act of the survey, she expressly authorized it and accepted it, and was represented by a, person designated by her for that purpose. Everything tends to show that things were done in good faith, and if any technical point was omitted, it must not be an obstacle with respect to a factual [193]*193situation which benefited Francisca Gomez’s estate, as there is no doubt that the street at the north of the lot is of great value to the urbanization and that it was worth while to permit Marques’ estate to extend so as to include the rectangle which is the object of the controversy, as Marques was also sacrificing a good number of square meters so that the street might be a permanent reality.
"It was not necessary to draw a public deed of the result of the survey. The landmarks were varied somewhat, but the settlement of the boundaries was made in accordance with the documents, and Marques obtained by the survey no more land than he had according to this title. In settling boundaries, certain variations are always made to compensate for the missing land. But the title continues being the same as appears from the original public deed. The map drawn becomes a complement of the title, and the landmarks show the possession.’’

We liave carefully examined all the evidence introduced, and in our judgment, it does not justify the conclusions arrived at by the court a quo. There is not sufficient evidence to show that the ancestor of the defendants agreed to deliver or give to the plaintiff, as a result of a settlement of boundaries, the lot claimed by him from her heirs. At the most it can be concluded that certain differences having arisen among the owners of the adjacent estates by reason of the construction of a street, they agreed in principle to conduct a survey of said estates with the purpose of settling said differences, but tliat alone does not mean that any concrete and definite agreement was arrived at as to the delivery of a certain portion of land.

The lot claimed is not included in plaintiff’s title.

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Bluebook (online)
62 P.R. 190, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/marques-arbona-v-colon-prsupreme-1943.