Jesus Teran v. Francisca Villanueva

Summary

Jesus Teran purchased land from the Villanueva family for P4,000, with the deed stating the property contained over 34 hectares. Upon later discovery that the land contained only 10 hectares, Teran sought rescission of the contract claiming misrepresentation. The Supreme Court applied Article 1471 of the Civil Code, which governs lump sum sales of real estate with specified boundaries. The Court ruled that when property is sold for a lump sum rather than per unit of measure, there is no price adjustment for area discrepancies if all land within the stated boundaries is delivered. Since Teran had adequate opportunity to investigate the property before purchase and defendants made no effort to prevent such investigation, the contract remained valid and binding. This decision reinforced the principle that buyers must exercise due diligence in property transactions and cannot later claim misrepresentation when they had means to verify the seller's representations.