Faustino Lichauco v. Jose Berenguer

Summary

This 1919 Supreme Court case resolved a complex property dispute involving double sales of the same land by Macario Berenguer. The first sale was to Cristino Singian in 1882, and the second to Cornelia Lauchangco in 1889. Lichauco et al., as Lauchangco's heirs, sued claiming superior rights. The Supreme Court affirmed the trial court's dismissal, applying Civil Code principles that in double sales without registration, the first purchaser to take possession prevails. Since Anselmo Singian (through his tutor Cristino Singian) first took possession in 1882 and maintained it continuously, his title was superior. Additionally, Singian had acquired ownership through prescription after 25 years of possession. The 1907 registration of Lauchangco's sale could not defeat Singian's prescriptive rights. The case establishes important precedent on competing property claims and the significance of possession in determining ownership rights under Philippine civil law.