Faustino Lichauco v. Francisco Martinez

Summary

This landmark 1906 Supreme Court case established that gambling debts cannot be recovered through civil action, even when evidenced by promissory notes, and that assignees of such obligations acquire no better rights than their assignors. Martinez lost substantial sums gambling at prohibited games (monte) and legal games (burro), executing promissory notes to Alba, who later assigned them to Lichauco. The Court affirmed that money lost at prohibited gaming is unrecoverable regardless of the form of the obligation, and that even for legal games like burro, the plaintiff failed to prove the specific amounts attributable to each game. The decision reinforced the public policy against enforcing gambling debts and clarified the application of Civil Code Article 1276 regarding false consideration in contracts, requiring clear proof of lawful consideration when the stated consideration is false.