Antonia Prepose v. Benedict Querrer

Summary

Petitioner Antonia Prepose sought recovery of a 198-square-meter property allegedly intended as right of way, claiming respondents illegally blocked it with a concrete fence. The property was part of 'portions excluded' mentioned in OCT No. RO-2180 (7802) covering 2,806 square meters owned by petitioner's predecessors-in-interest. The Supreme Court denied the petition, finding petitioner failed to prove both the identity of the disputed land and title thereto under Article 434 of the Civil Code. The Court held that since the entire 2,806 square meters were already allocated to heirs in the Extra-Judicial Settlement, adding the excluded portions would unduly increase the original property area. The technical description in the OCT clearly limited the coverage to 2,806 square meters, excluding the disputed area. Petitioner's claim that the excluded portions were intended as right of way lacked evidentiary support beyond self-serving statements. The case demonstrates the strict requirements for proving ownership in property recovery actions.