Spouses Florendo Dauz v. Spouses Eligio

Summary

This case involves a double sale of immovable property where spouses Oguis first sold 7,616 square meters to spouses Echavez in July 1982 (unregistered), then later sold the same property to spouses Dauz in May 1988. The key legal issue was determining rightful ownership under Article 1544 of the Civil Code. The Supreme Court applied the rule that in double sales of immovable property, ownership belongs to the purchaser who first registered in good faith. Although Echavez registered their sale only in 1989 after learning of the competing claim, the Court found they acted in good faith since the delay was due to the original owner's request to keep the sale unregistered pending potential repurchase. The Court rejected petitioners' bad faith allegation, ruling that Echavez are the rightful owners of the entire property covered by TCT No. T-24630.