Pérez de Portela v. Marrero

47 P.R. 431
CourtSupreme Court of Puerto Rico
DecidedSeptember 29, 1934
DocketNo. 6375
StatusPublished

This text of 47 P.R. 431 (Pérez de Portela v. Marrero) 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
Pérez de Portela v. Marrero, 47 P.R. 431 (prsupreme 1934).

Opinions

Me. Justice Hutchison

delivered the opinion of the Court.

Francisco J. Marrero foreclosed a mortgage on a one-story tile roofed house described as extending from one street to another in Yega Baja. When the marshal went to execute a writ of possession he found a frame mirador, roofed with zinc, which had been built in the court yard or above the court yard of the house described in the writ and within the boundaries of the mortgaged property. This mirador was occupied by a tenant through whom plaintiffs exercised actual possession and control thereof. They refused to vacate the mirador and the marshal left them in the actual possession thereof, but put the mortgagee in possession of the rest of the premises. Later the mortgagee obtained actual possession of the mirador and plaintiffs instituted the present summary proceeding to restore the status quo. The facts, as found by the District Judge, and the law applicable thereto are clearly set forth in a statement of the case and opinion as follows:

“This is an injunction to recover possession. The plaintiffs allege that within the year preceding the filing of the complaint they were in actual possession of a piece of property made up by a lot and house, which they describe, situated in Vega Baja, and that the defendant had dispossessed them thereof, setting up the facts constituting the disposession. The defendant in his answer denies [433]*433the averments and pleads that he is in possession thereof by right of purchase at a public auction.
"The issue "was thus joined and the case went to trial on February 21, 1933. The parties appeared by counsel and witnesses were examined.
"The plaintiffs’ evidence consisted of the following testimony:
"ft. Consuelo Pórtela testified that she was one of the plaintiffs and, after describing the property, stated that they had been in possession of the property from 1925 until the end of November, 1932; that in October, 1932, the marshal of this court went to put the defendant in possession of some property under execution belonging to Dolores Pérez de Pórtela and upon the defendant pointing out to the marshal, among others, the immovable in litigation, she called the latter’s attention to the fact that the said immovable was not included among the property to be executed, as it belonged to the heirs of Pórtela and not to Mrs. Dolores Pérez de Pórtela, and consequently the marshal refused to deliver the same; that the house in question was occupied by Alejandro Torres as tenant of the heirs of Pórtela, who had brought an action of unlawful detainer against him and that on the eve of his eviction the defendant arrived, bringing in his own car some furniture belonging to Enrique Pumarejo and gave him possession of the said house as tenant; that the plaintiff called Pumarejo’s attention and he replied that if he was there in possession of the house he was acting on orders' from the defendant; that a few days afterwards the defendant had the house painted, a rail fence destroyed and other repairs made; and that all the above was done against the will and notwithstanding the opposition of the plaintiffs.
“b. José Santiago testified that he is deputy marshal of this court and that in order to put the defendant in possession of certain property bought at an execution sale in an action prosecuted against Dolores Pérez de Pórtela, he went to Yega Baja and that when he was on the point of putting the defendant in possession of a building, Miss Consuelo Pórtela objected and stated, in the presence of defendant Marrero, that certain part of the house was not included in the property to be delivered; that a sort of pent-house (mirador) has been built over part of the house; that the witness informed the parties that his sole and exclusive mission was to deliver possession of the property described in the writ; tha tthe writ did not cover the upper part (meaning the so-called pent-house); and that in purr suance thereof he put the defendant in possession of a one-story brick [434]*434building with flat roof in Ramón Betances street of Vega Baja, bounded on its right, facing it, by the house of Pedro Lluberas, and on the left by Chorro street; that the house is divided into several rooms and one of them looks on Palma street; that that was the part of which he gave possession to defendant Marrero.
“c. Dr. C. M. García, Liberio A. Matos and José M. Pórtela substantially corroborated with their testimony that of the witness, Consuelo Pórtela.
“The witnesses for the defendant were José J. Rodriguez, Emilio Martínez and the defendant himself, whose testimony substantially tended to show that the defendant had possession of the entire building situated in Betances Street, Vega Baja, by virtue of the actual delivery thereof made to him by the marshal of this court in October, 1932, when he put the defendant in possession of the property bought at public auction in the execution proceedings against Mrs. Pérez de Pórtela; and that on the roof of the building already described there is a pent-house (mirador), and that the said officer also delivered to him the possession of that part of the building because the whole of it constituted a single piece of property.
“As may be seen, the evidence is conflicting. However, the testimony of the marshal is explicit. During his examination he stated several times as a fact that he had not delivered to the defendant the possession of the structure or building under litigation. The following is from his testimony:
“ ‘Q. Was that property not included?
“ 'A. The writ did not cover the front part.
“ 'Q. Did you not put him in possession of that property?
“ ‘A. No. I only put him in possession of the property described in the writ.
“ 'Q. It is then clear that the witness did not put Francisco J. Marrero in possession of that part — which the witness calls a penthouse of the two-story house?
“ ‘A. No. I only informed him that I was giving him possession of the property that I have just described here, that is, in strict compliance with the writ.
“ 'The Court. Will the witness state whether the house extends over the whole lot.
“ 'A. It does not. In the middle of the street. By the court’s leave.(he goes to the blackboard). In the [435]*435middle of Chorro street, in this part of Chorro street, which is this street across here, upon reaching this spot, there is a gate opening into a small yard measuring two meters approximately, dividing the wall, that is, starting from the wall extending from one street to the other. It leads into a small yard. The entrance measures about two meters and starting from there, three is an uninterrupted concrete wall reaching out to the other street. It is divided by a gate.
‘Q. Is there anything on the yard?
“ ‘A. There is nothing on the surface of the yard.
“ ‘Nothing?
“ ‘A. Absolutely nothing.
“ ‘Q. And above the yard?
“ ‘A.

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47 P.R. 431, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/perez-de-portela-v-marrero-prsupreme-1934.