BPI v. Pesons

Summary

This case involves a real estate mortgage dispute where Bank of the Philippine Islands (formerly FEBTC) sought to enforce a mortgage over property owned by Benjamin Pesons after loan default. Violeta Pesons, the wife, challenged the mortgage claiming her signature was forged and she never consented to the encumbrance. The Regional Trial Court, Court of Appeals, and Supreme Court all ruled in favor of Violeta, finding that expert handwriting analysis proved her signature was forged. The Supreme Court emphasized that under the conjugal partnership of gains system, a husband cannot encumber conjugal property without his wife's consent. The Court held that the expert testimony from the PNP Crime Laboratory handwriting expert constituted clear and convincing evidence that rebutted the presumption of regularity of the notarized mortgage document. The decision highlights the protection of spousal property rights and the evidentiary value of expert testimony in document examination cases.