Makilito B. Mahinay v. Hon. Ireneo Lee Gako, Jr.

Summary

This consolidated case involved a complex property dispute over TCT No. 117531 covering a 406-square meter lot in Cebu City. Mahinay claimed preferential right to purchase based on a compromise agreement, while Sorensen held the certificate as mortgagee. The Supreme Court applied the principle that prior registration prevails, ruling that Mahinay's Notice of Lis Pendens (registered August 17, 1994) takes precedence over Sorensen's mortgage (registered October 28, 1994). The Court dismissed one petition as moot when the trial judge granted the same relief during appeal, and denied the other petition, upholding procedural requirements for verification in certiorari proceedings. The decision reinforces the Torrens system's priority rules and emphasizes that lis pendens annotation on the original title binds all subsequent parties regardless of the owner's copy status.