Aleida Saavedra v. W. S. Price

Summary

Aleida Saavedra challenged a Court of First Instance order directing the sale of her mortgaged property to satisfy a P15,000 debt owed by Rafael Martinez and Ceferino Ibañez to W.S. Price. She argued the court abused discretion in denying postponement and exceeded jurisdiction in ordering the sale, claiming she was merely a surety entitled to exhaustion of the principal debtor's property. The Supreme Court denied her petition for certiorari, ruling that the lower court properly exercised discretion in proceeding with the hearing after one postponement, could hear the motion ex parte given the prior judgment's terms, and that her suretyship defense should have been raised before judgment. The Court held the mortgage lien was valid under the Civil Code, making the property subject to sale upon the debtors' default.