Portela v. Registrar of San Juan, Section 2

22 P.R. 81
Supreme Court of Puerto Rico·Decided February 16, 1915·No. No. 210·Published

Opinion

Mr. Chibe Justice Hernández

delivered the opinion of' the court.

[82]*82Deed No. 24 executed before Notary José Gr. Torres on March 8, 1914, for the liquidation of the partnership Successors of Sobrinos & Company having been presented in the Kegistry of Property of San Juan, Section 2, for record as to a rural property described under letters LL and allotted' to Manuel Benito Pórtela, one of the partners, the registrar refused to admit the same to record for the reasons stated in the following decision:

“Admission to record of this instrument is denied as to the property allotted to Manuel Pórtela y Lomba and described under letters *LL, which is the only title sought to be recorded, because Ignacio Lomba y Guerrero, the tutor of Josefa Lomba y Guerrero, has not obtained the proper authorization of the court to execute the said deed of liquidation in representation of the said minor. In lieu thereof a cautionary notice has been entered for the legal period on page 87 of volume 6 of Yega Alta and on page 10 of volume 12 of Yega Baja, properties Nos. 301 and 581, entry letters A, in which are set forth also the following curable defects: Failure to present the powers of attorney of José María Sobrino y Yicente and Manuel Otero y Lomba, referred to in the said instrument; failure to present, the power of attorney of Eugenio Lomba y Sobrino, executed on April 9, 1913, before Notary José G. Torres in favor of Ignacio Lomba y Guerrero, for the purpose of executing the last extension of the liquidated partnership; failure to state the civil status of Diego, Manuela, and Andrés Lomba y Guerrero; failure to describe separately the tracts of land situated in each of the municipalities of Yega Alta and Yega Baja; failure to state on which of the two tracts constituting the whole of the property the houses are situated. ’ ’

The above decision is submitted to our consideration by virtue of an administrative appeal taken therefrom by Manuel Benito Pórtela, who prays that it be reversed and that the court order the record to be made. He attacks the legal ground on which the registrar bases his refusal, but without making the slightest reference to the curable defects enumerated by the said official.

Let us examine the only legal question submitted to this court for consideration and decision, namely, whether the deed of liquidation should be recorded as to the property [83]*83described under letters LL in view of the fact that proper authorization to execute the same was not obtained on behalf .of the minor Josefa Lomba y Guerrero, who is represented by a tutor.

The said instrument recites that by an ágreement entered into on October 22, 1908, Manuel Benito Pórtela y Lomba, Eugenio Lomba y Sobrino, José María Sobrino y Vicente and Manuel Otero y Lomba formed a limited commercial partnership to do business in Vega Baja under the firm name of Successors of Sobrino & Company, Limited, for a period of four years; that first the partnership was extended to September 30, 1913, and then to January 31, 1914, $nd the duration of the partnership was not to be affected by the death of any of the active or special partners, but it should continue until the time limit unless previously dissolved by mutual consent. During the last extension the managing partner, Eugenio Lomba, died in Spain on November 9, 1913, leaving a will in which he named as his heirs his widow, Engracia Arias y Aristi, and Andrés, Diego, Manuela and Josefina Lomba y Guerrero and José and Ramón Lomba y Arias. The partnership continued to do business until the expiration of the last extension on January 31, 1914.'

Manuel Benito Pórtela y Lomba, in his own right and also as attorney in fact of José María Sobrino y Vicente and Manuel Otero y Lomba, together with Ignacio Lomba, for himself and as the tutor of his minor sister Josefa and also as attorney in fact of Engracia Arias y Aristi, widow of Eugenio Lomba, who conferred upon him the power in her own name and as mother with patria potestas over her two minor. children, Ramón and José Lomba y Arias, and also as attorney in fact of Diego, Manuela and Andrés Lomba y Guerrero, all of whom composed the testamentary succession of Eugenio Lomba y Sobrino, executed the said deed of March 8, 1914, for the liquidation of the partnership Successors of Sobrino & Company, Limited.

[84]*84After setting forth in clause 12 of the said deed that the partnership assets of $83,134.58, less the liabilities of $24,334.46, amounted to $59,800.12 (sic) of which $32,040.97 was the share of Manuel B. Pórtela; $15,540.74 of Manuel Otero y Lomba; $9,418.12 of José María Sobrino, and $1,800 of the Succession of Eugenio Lomba, represented by Ignacio Lomba, the partition was made by allotting to Manuel B. Pórtela certain cash, cattle and real properties, among these a tract of land of 126.47 cuerdas designated in the inventory of the estate under the letters LL, this being the same property which was refused admission to record by the decision appealed from.- Manuel Otero was .allotted certain cash, merchandise and personal credits for his share; José María So-brino certain merchandise, furniture and personal credits for his share, and the representative of the Succession of Eugenio Lomba was given a check for $1,800 on the Banco Territorial y Agrícola de Puerto Rico in payment of its share.

It was stated further in the eleventh clause of the deed that although the Succession of Eugenio Lomba was entitled to only $891.85 as the representative of the deceased, taking into account the irreparable loss suffered by the death of Don Eugenio, Pórtela for himself and in his representative capacity and the representative of the Succession of Eugenio Lomba; had agreed to award the latter $1,800 in payment of its share instead of the $89i.85 which really was its share, deducting the difference of $908.15 from the allotment which should have been made to Manuel B. Pórtela, whose share was in this manner reduced to the said amount of $32,040.97 instead of $32.947.12, which really-belonged to him.

In support of his prayer that the decision appealed from be reversed, the appellant cites article 234 of the Code of Commerce, while the registrar not only contends that the said article applies only to personal property, but is of the opinion that it was repealed by the Act of March 9, 1911, whose section 3 repeals all laws in conflict therewith.

[85]*85Article 234 of the Code of Commerce, which was already in force in this island when the Spanish Civil Code was extended to it, reads as follows:

“In the liquidation of commercial associations in which minors or incapacitated persons are interested, the father, mother, or guardian of the latter, as the case may be, shall.act with full powers, as though a private transaction were involved, and all the proceedings instituted and consented to by said representatives for their principals shall be valid and irrevocable without privilege of restitution and without prejudice to the liability the former .may contract with regard to the latter by reason of their carelessness or negligence. ’ ’

. This provision is general, without exceptions or limitations of any - hind, and embraces • all classes of commercial partnerships no matter what the property composing the capital may he.

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Portela v. Registrar of San Juan, Section 2, 22 P.R. 81 (prsupreme 1915).

22 P.R. 81 (Portela v. Registrar of San Juan, Section 2) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.