Atlantic Erectors v. Herbal Cove Realty Corporation

Summary

Atlantic Erectors constructed townhouses for Herbal Cove under a P16.7 million contract but disputes arose over delays and payments. Atlantic filed a collection suit seeking P4.8 million in unpaid services plus damages, simultaneously annotating lis pendens notices on the Tagaytay property titles. The Supreme Court upheld the Court of Appeals' cancellation of the lis pendens, ruling that simple collection suits for money and damages do not directly affect real property title or possession as required under PD 1529. The Court emphasized that petitioner's complaint was purely personal in nature, seeking only monetary recovery without alleging any contractor's lien or property interest. The decision clarifies that lis pendens annotation requires direct effects on real property rights, not mere incidental connections through construction services performed on the land.