Marino v. Court of Appeals

Summary

This case involves a property dispute between children from Lucio Adriano's two marriages over a 45,000 square meter lot. Lucio married Gliceria in 1933, separated in 1942, and cohabited with Vicenta until marrying her in 1968 after Gliceria's death. The contested property, acquired in 1964 and titled to both Lucio and Vicenta, was claimed by Vicenta's children as co-owned property. However, the Supreme Court affirmed lower courts' findings that the property was purchased with conjugal funds from Lucio's first marriage, totaling P110,994.88 from his business partnerships. The Court held that since the property was acquired during the subsistence of the first marriage, it remained conjugal property despite being titled in both names. The designation of Vicenta as co-owner was deemed a mistake requiring correction through constructive trust principles under Article 1456 of the Civil Code.