Flordeliza Calpatura Flora v. Roberto

Summary

This case involves a property dispute over the validity and extent of sale of the northern half portion of a residential lot in Quezon City. Narcisa Prado, widow of the original co-owner, sold the northern portion to Tomas Calpatura Sr. through agreements executed in 1968 and 1973. The deceased's children challenged the sale's validity 18 years later, claiming it was a mortgage and that their mother lacked authority to sell co-owned property. The Supreme Court held that while the sale was valid (not a mortgage), Narcisa could only sell her undivided 9/14 share of the entire property, not a specific portion. The Court applied principles of conjugal property, co-ownership, inheritance law, and the parol evidence rule, ultimately remanding the case to determine the specific portion to be allocated to the buyer through proper partition proceedings.