Roman Cajuigan v. Mariano Natividad

Summary

This 1910 Supreme Court case involved an estate administrator's attempt to recover three carabaos from Mariano Natividad, who had possessed them for over four years as security for a debt owed by the deceased. The lower court ordered return or payment, but the Supreme Court reversed, applying the Civil Code's three-year prescription period for good faith possession of personal property and the four-year limitation for recovery actions. The Court recognized that while the first administrator lacked authority to deliver the carabaos without court permission, Natividad's good faith possession for over four years barred recovery. This case established important precedent on prescription of personal property rights and the limits of estate recovery actions against good faith possessors.