Romero v. Court of Appeals

Summary

This case involves a dispute over maintaining a lis pendens annotation during litigation of a contract to sell real property. Saturnino Orden entered into a contract to sell with the Romero spouses for a P17M property in Quezon City. When Orden failed to pay the down payment, the Romeros rescinded the contract. Orden filed a specific performance case and annotated lis pendens on the title. The RTC cancelled the lis pendens, finding no actionable right existed, but the Court of Appeals reversed, holding that specific performance suits directly affect property title and warrant lis pendens protection. The Supreme Court affirmed, establishing that contracts to sell create sufficient basis for lis pendens annotation even without executed deeds of sale, emphasizing that lis pendens serves to protect potential property rights during litigation regardless of ultimate merit.