Vallecillo v. González

52 P.R. 507
CourtSupreme Court of Puerto Rico
DecidedJanuary 11, 1938
DocketNo. 6865
StatusPublished

This text of 52 P.R. 507 (Vallecillo v. González) 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
Vallecillo v. González, 52 P.R. 507 (prsupreme 1938).

Opinion

Mr. Chief Justice Del Toro

delivered the opinion of the Court.

On July 26, 1932, Gerónimo Vallecillo, by his attorneys, brought a summary foreclosure proceeding in the District Court of Arecibo against a rural property located in Palmas Altas Ward of the municipality of Manatí, formerly Barceloneta, the property having an area of 293 cuerdas, and being bounded upon the north by the high water mark. The owner of the property, Fernando Suria, mortgaged the same to secure a certain obligation which he failed to pay. From this arose the foreclosure.

Upon completion of all of the steps of the proceeding, the property was sold at public auction on November 9, 1932, to Vallecillo, who offered therefor the sum of $12,500 to be applied on account of his $25,000 claim.

This being the situation, Vallecillo, on March 30, 1933, filed in court a “Motion for possession of the whole of the property.” The averments are literally as follows:

“1. That on November 9, 1932 there was a sale at public auction of the property subject to the mortgage foreclosure in this case, and that the same was awarded at the said sale to the plaintiff to be applied on account of his claim against the defendants.
“2. That on that date the plaintiff took possession of the property by delivery made to him by the marshal of this court, but that he has subsequently found living on part of the property some persons who have refused to vacate the same in spite of the plaintiff’s demands.”

He prayed that the court order the clerk to issue the proper writ to the marshal. The motion was granted.

[509]*509On June 23 following the foreclosing creditor presented another motion stating that the marshal had found the persons mentioned living on the property, had notified them that the property had passed to the ownership of the plaintiff, and had granted them 30 days within which to vacate the same, under threat of ejectment. He further stated that the period had expired without the possessors of the property having done anything, and prayed that the court order the clerk to issue a writ to the marshal to proceed without delay to dispossess them.

The motion was denied, as follows:

“Upon consideration of the motion filed by the.plaintiff in this case praying that the marshal be ordered to dispossess a number of persons who have houses located on the lands of the plaintiff, and upon consideration of the reports of the marshal, who states that such houses are found to be located outside of the boundaries of the property awarded to Mr. Vallecillo, and upon consideration, also, of the fact that the plaintiff has already been placed in possession of the property awarded to him, the Court believing that what the plaintiff now prays for would be ground for a separate action to determine whether the persons in possession of that place are within his boundaries, the Court denies the motion so presented.”

The foreclosing creditor modified his petition, and the court on July 5, 1933 ordered:

“ . . . that an order be issued, when asked for by the petitioner, for said persons to appear on the day and hour to be fixed by the Court, to show cause, if any there be, why the marshal should not be ordered to eject them and their belongings from the property subject of this mortgage foreclosure proceeding.”

The order was asked for, issued, and served by the marshal, and on December 1, 1933, twenty one persons appeared and objected to the ejectment, setting forth their reasons in a written joint answer filed by counsel.

Evidence was taken, and on April 30, 1934, the court denied the motion for ejectment. The foreclosing creditor appealed, and the transcript of the evidence was filed in [510]*510November, 1934, and appellant’s brief in July, 1935. Tbe appellees filed no brief and did not appear at tbe bearing of the appeal, which was had on November 5, 1937.

Appellant assigns 9 errors, all connected with the weighing of the evidence by the trial judge, as appears from his order of April 30, 1933, as follows:

“There is no doubt that Mr. Valleeillo is the owner of the property of 293 cuerdas described in. this order, since not only has it been shown by the deed of sale executed in his favor by the marshal, but because, moreover, what is evident is not denied. But, in the matter which is now before us for decision, there has been no discussion as to whether Mr. Vallecillo is or is not the owner of the property in question. The purpose of this proceeding is to determine whether the aforesaid persons occupy with their houses a part of the lands of Mr. Vallecillo or not. The respondents have presented several witnesses to show that their houses are not located on Mr. Vallecillo’s property, but perhaps on land belonging to the People of Puerto Bieo. Among these witnesses there is Mr. Francisco Miranda, Marshal of this Court, who testified that these people live at the very end of the northern part, there being a highway dividing their houses from the property and that in some places there is a hedge between the property and the said road. The deputy marshal, Hernando Mattei, also testified, stating that there is a neighborhood road between the property and the houses of these persons and that these buildings are between the sea and the nighborhood road. Some of the most interesting testimony was that of Félix E. Eivera, clerk of this Court. Eivera testified that the former owner of the property, Mr. Suria González, is a cousin of his wife, and that he (the witness) knows that place very well because he was for a long time employed by Central Plazuela and for that reason knows that the municipal road running from Barceloneta to Palmas Altas was built, partly on lands belonging to Suria, donated by him to the municipality, and partly on lands within the maritime zone. Félix Hernández stated that he had been living in that place for 23 years and that his house was located between the sea and the road. Zenón Nogueras made a similar statement. Cayetana Bomán, an old woman of 70, testified that for 60 years she had been living in the same place and that those lands belong to the maritime zone. Elena Dominguez testified that she is a widow and that her husband left her the house which she has there, and that she has been living [511]*511in that place for 38 years. Fernando Rosado testified that he had lived there all his life. Antonia Dominguez, another old woman of 70, stated that she already had her little house in that place before the San Ciriaco hurricane.
"For the plaintiff, Félix Guzmán testified, stating: That when he went up to the property to take it over as mayordomo there were already in existence some wire fences dividing the property from the neighborhood road; that they went over the property and Mr. Vallecillo showed him that the boundary of the property on the north is the sea, but that the houses are all between the fence and the sea.
"The trial judge made an occular inspection of the place and could observe that to get there one takes a neighborhood road which, starting from Barceloneta, extends for a distance of approximately 4 kilometers before reaching the place. There is there a settlement made up of some 60 houses, which, from time immemorial, has been known as Palmas Altas. This setttlement is a ward of Barceloneta and appears on the map of our island.

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Bluebook (online)
52 P.R. 507, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/vallecillo-v-gonzalez-prsupreme-1938.