Gadrinab v. Salamanca

Summary

This case involves siblings who inherited property and initially agreed to a compromise requiring sale and division of proceeds. When some parties failed to comply, one sibling sought physical partition instead of enforcing the original agreement. The Supreme Court reversed lower courts and ruled that a judgment on compromise agreement has res judicata effect and is immediately final and executory. The Court emphasized the doctrine of immutability of judgments, holding that subsequent disagreements among parties do not constitute supervening events justifying disturbance of a final judgment. The decision reinforces that courts have a ministerial duty to enforce compromise agreements and cannot modify their terms simply because parties refuse to comply. This establishes important precedent on the finality and enforceability of judicial compromise agreements in property disputes.