Maceda vs. CA 176 Scra 440
Maceda vs. CA 176 Scra 440
Maceda vs. CA 176 Scra 440
Maceda vs. Court of Appeals, 176 SCRA 440 , August 11, 1989
Case Title : ADELFO MACEDA, petitioner, vs. HON. COURT OF APPEALS AND
CEMENT CENTER, INC., respondents.Case Nature : PETITION to review the
decision of the Court of Appeals.
Syllabi Class : Courts|Civil Law|Remedial Law|Jurisdiction|Counterclaim|
Property|Possession|Special Civil Action|Ejectment
Syllabi:
1. Courts; Jurisdiction; Counterclaim; The jurisdiction of the
Metropolitan Trial Court in a civil action for sum of money is limited to a
demand that does not exceed twenty thousand pesos exclusive of interest
and costs but inclusive of damages of whatever kind; A counter-claim
beyond that jurisdictional limit may be pleaded only by way of defense but
not to obtain affirmative relief.+
2. Civil Law; Property; Possession; No mere lessee can claim to be a
possessor in good faith.+
3. Civil Law; Property; Possession; The undertaking to reimburse Maceda
did not encumber the property nor bind the purchaser thereof or the
successor-in-interest of the Victorias since it was not recorded on their title.
+
4. Remedial Law; Special Civil Action; Ejectment; New owners need of
the premises is a legitimate ground for the judicial ejectment of the lessee. +
Ponente: GRIO-AQUINO
Dispositive Portion:
WHEREFORE, the petition for review is granted with respect to the
computation of the rentals due from the petitioner. He is ordered to pay the
unpaid rentals of P32,864.36 for his occupancy of the private respondents
property from December 1981 to August 14, 1989 plus P662.36 monthly
thereafter until he vacates the premises. The dismissal of his counterclaim
for the value of his improvements is affirmed. No pronouncement as to
costs.
Citation Ref:
149 SCRA 32 | 144 SCRA 154 | 145 SCRA 408 | 111 SCRA 262 | 135 SCRA
340 | 72 SCRA 148
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SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED
Maceda vs. Court of Appeals
G.R. No. 83545. August 11, 1989.*
ADELFO MACEDA, petitioner, vs. HON. COURT OF APPEALS AND CEMENT CENTER,
INC., respondents.
Courts; Jurisdiction; Counterclaim; The jurisdiction of the Metropolitan Trial Court in
a civil action for sum of money is limited to a demand that does not exceed twenty
thousand pesos exclusive of interest and costs but inclusive of damages of
whatever kind; A counter-claim beyond that jurisdictional limit may be pleaded only
by way of defense but not to obtain affirmative relief.Macedas petition for review
(G.R. No. 83545) has no merit. The Court of Appeals correctly ruled that the
municipal trial court did not have original jurisdiction over his counterclaim as it
exceeds P20,000.00. Correspondingly, the regional trial court did not have appellate
jurisdiction over the claim. The decision of the Municipal Trial Court of San Juan
awarding him P158,000 on his counterclaim, and that of the Regional Trial Court
raising the award to P182,200, were invalid for lack of jurisdiction. The jurisdiction of
the Metropolitan Trial Court in a civil action for sum of money (Macedas
counterclaim for the value of his improvements is one such action) is limited to a
demand that does not exceed twenty thousand pesos exclusive of interest and
costs but inclusive of damages of whatever kind. (Sec. 33, subpar. 1, B.P. Blg. 129.)
A counterclaim in the municipal or city court beyond that jurisdictional limit may be
pleaded only by way of defense to weaken the plaintiffs claim, but not to obtain
affirmative relief.
Civil Law; Property; Possession; No mere lessee can claim to be a possessor in good
faith.Maceda was not a possessor in good faith, i.e., one who possesses in concept
of an owner, hence, he had no right to retain possession of the leased premises
pending reimbursement of his improvements thereon. No mere lessee can claim to
be a possessor in good faith.
Same; Same; Same; The undertaking to reimburse Maceda did not encumber the
property nor bind the purchaser thereof or the successor-in-interest of the Victorias
since it was not recorded on their title.In any event, since the undertaking of the
Victorias to reimburse Maceda for the P40,000 worth of improvements which he
introduced on their
_______________
* FIRST DIVISION.
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VOL. 176, AUGUST 11, 1989
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Maceda vs. Court of Appeals
property was not recorded on their title, that promise did not encumber the property
nor bind the purchaser thereof or the successor-in-interest of the Victorias.
Remedial Law; Special Civil Action; Ejectment; New owners need of the premises is
a legitimate ground for the judicial ejectment of the lessee.While it is true that
under B.P. Blg. 877 a lessee may not be ejected on account of the sale or mortgage
of the leased premises, the new owners need of the premises for the construction
of dwellings for its employees, coupled with the lessees failure to pay the rentals
since December 1981, are, to our mind, a legitimate ground for the judicial
ejectment of the lessee.
PETITION to review the decision of the Court of Appeals.
The issue raised in this case is the jurisdiction of the metropolitan trial court, in an
ejectment case, over the lessees counterclaim for the value of improvements
exceeding the courts jurisdictional limit of P20,000. The Court of Appeals dismissed
the counterclaim for lack of jurisdiction, hence, this petition for review by the lessee,
Adelfo Maceda.
The leased property originally belonged to the spouses Arturo Victoria and Maxima
Monserrat, a maternal aunt of the petitioner. After the spouses emigrated to the U.S.
in 1970, they leased their house and lot in San Juan, Metro Manila, to the petitioner
for P200 per month in 1970. As the house was old and run down, petitioner
proposed to have it repaired and renovated subject to reimbursement of his
expenses. The lessors allowed him to do so (Exh. 3) and requested him to send
them pictures of the work accomplished (Exh. 3-a). He made extensive repairs,
tearing down rotten parts of the house, rebuilding and extending it up to the garage
which he converted into a dining room. He also moved the bathrooms around. The
remodelling job cost P40,000. His aunt and uncle were pleased with the pictures of
the remodelled house and made plans to
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SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED
Maceda vs. Court of Appeals
reimburse him for his expenditures. But Maceda did not stop there. In what appears
to be an orgy of building, he introduced more improvements. He constructed a new
driveway, a basketball court and raised the ground level near the creek, elevated
the fence, remodelled the gate, and landscaped the lawn.
In 1972, Arturo Victoria passed away in the United States. In 1973, his aunts
attorney-in-fact, Atty. Rustico Zapata, Sr., promised to sell the property to him for
P125,000 after the title should have been transferred to his widowed aunt. On
February 12, 1974, Atty. Zapata and a Mr. Gomez visited the place and informed him
that his aunt had sold the property to Mrs. Gomez so he should vacate it. He refused
to leave. As a result, Atty. Zapata filed an ejectment case against him on April 4,
1974, in the Municipal Court of San Juan, Rizal (Civil Case No. 3773). It was
dismissed on the plaintiffs own motion.
In November 1974, Atty. Zapata informed the petitioner that the property had been
sold to Pablo Zubiri for P145,000. He was asked to vacate it. Again, he refused.
Zubiri filed an ejectment case against him (Civil Case No. 37781) in the Municipal
Court of San Juan, Rizal. Petitioner insisted that he was entitled to retain possession
of the premises until his expenses were duly reimbursed to him. The complaint was
dismissed for failure to prosecute.
In 1978 Maxima Monserrat died in the United States.
On December 4, 1981, the property was sold by Zubiri to Cement Center, Inc. which
obtained TCT Nos. 30844 to 30845 for the property. The president of the company
inspected the premises. Maceda was asked to vacate the property because the
company would build a housing project on it for its employees. Maceda insisted on
being reimbursed for his improvements as the original owners had promised to do.
Formal demands to vacate and for payment of P4,000 monthly rental from April 15,
1982 were sent to him by the company. On January 17, 1984, another ejectment
suit was filed against him in the Metropolitan Trial Court of San Juan, Metro Manila.
In his answer to the complaint, Maceda set up a counterclaim for P240,000, the
alleged value of his improvements.
In its decision, the Metropolitan Trial Court ordered him to vacate the premises and
pay the plaintiff P2,000 per month as
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SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED
Maceda vs. Court of Appeals
Court. Under Section 33, B.P. Blg. 129, the Metropolitan Trial Court shall have
exclusive original jurisdiction over civil actions where the amount of the demand
does not exceed P20,000.00 exclusive of interest and costs but inclusive of
damages of whatever kind. It goes without saying that the Regional Trial Court has
no authority to entertain the counterclaim because it took cognizance of the case by
virtue of its appellate jurisdiction.
Considering that the Metropolitan Trial Court did not have jurisdiction to adjudicate
the counterclaim, the decision of the Regional Trial Court on appeal giving private
respondent the right of retention is without legal basis. Besides, the right of
retention applies only to a possessor in good faith under Article 546 of the Civil
Code. In lease, the lessee knows that his occupancy of the premises continues only
during the lifetime of the lease contract. If he introduces improvements thereon, he
does so at his own risk (Imperial Insurance vs. Simon, 14 SCRA 855). The rights of a
lessee in good faith, which do not include the right of retention, are defined in
Article 1678, x x x. (pp. 34-35, Rollo.)
In his petition for review of that decision in this Court, Maceda assails the setting
aside of the money judgment or award for his improvements in the sum of
P182,200, and the rejection of his claim to a right of retention over the leased
premises.
Macedas petition for review (G.R. No. 83545) has no merit. The Court of Appeals
correctly ruled that the municipal trial court did not have original jurisdiction over
his counterclaim as it exceeds P20,000. Correspondingly, the regional trial court did
not have appellate jurisdiction over the claim. The decision of the Municipal Trial
Court of San Juan awarding him P158,000 on his counterclaim, and that of the
Regional Trial Court raising the award to P182,200, were invalid for lack of
jurisdiction. The jurisdiction of the Metropolitan Trial Court in a civil action for sum of
money (Macedas counterclaim for the value of his improvements is one such
action) is limited to a demand that does not exceed twenty thousand pesos
exclusive of interest and costs but inclusive of damages of whatever kind. (Sec. 33,
subpar. 1, B.P. Blg. 129.) A counterclaim in the municipal or city court beyond that
jurisdictional limit may be pleaded only by way of defense to weaken the plaintiffs
claim, but not to obtain affirmative relief. (Agustin vs. Bacalan, 135 SCRA 340).
445
Per Month
Total
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SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED
Maceda vs. Court of Appeals
Per Month
Total
447
Copyright 2017 Central Book Supply, Inc. All rights reserved. Maceda vs. Court of
Appeals, 176 SCRA 440, G.R. No. 83545 August 11, 1989