- Petitioner
- Alfredo N. Aguila, Jr.
- Respondent
- Honorable Court of Appeals
- Citation
- G.R. No. 127347
- Court
- Supreme Court
- Division
- Second Division
- Ponente
- Mendoza, J.
- Decided
- November 25, 1999
Summary
This case involved a property transaction dispute where the Abrogar spouses obtained P200,000 from A.C. Aguila & Sons Co. under a Memorandum of Agreement providing for property sale with 90-day repurchase option. When repurchase failed, the partnership claimed ownership while Abrogar sought nullification claiming forgery. The RTC dismissed the petition, but the Court of Appeals reversed, declaring the transaction an equitable mortgage and pactum commissorium. The Supreme Court ultimately reversed both lower courts, dismissing the case on the procedural ground that the wrong party was sued. The Court held that since A.C. Aguila & Sons Co. was a partnership with separate juridical personality under Civil Code Article 1768, the individual manager Alfredo Aguila Jr. was not the real party in interest who should be sued regarding partnership property transactions. This decision reinforced the principle that partnerships maintain distinct legal personalities separate from their individual partners.
Intellegal Wiki · Key Holding
A partnership has a juridical personality separate from its partners (Article 1768); an action on a partnership obligation must be brought against the partnership, and individual partners are not liable absent proof that the separate personality was used for fraud.
An editorially maintained summary of the rule this Supreme Court decision is cited for — not legal advice.