Quintanilla v. Pedro Abangan

Summary

This case involves a petition for compulsory easement of right of way filed by property owners Apolinardito and Perfecta Quintanilla against Pedro Abangan and Daryl's Collection Int'l Inc. The petitioners, who own a rattan furniture manufacturing business, sought a 6-meter wide right of way over respondents' adjacent property to access a public highway for their business operations. The case went through three levels of courts, with all consistently ruling against the petitioners. The Supreme Court affirmed the lower courts' decisions, holding that petitioners failed to establish the fourth requisite for compulsory easement - that the right of way be at the point least prejudicial to the servient estate. The Court emphasized that the criterion of least prejudice must prevail over shortest distance, and that mere convenience is insufficient basis for imposing a compulsory easement, especially when alternative access routes exist that would cause less damage to the servient property.