Manila Electric Company v. The Honorable Intermediate Appellate Court

Summary

MERALCO erected transmission towers on private land in 1929-1930 without proper legal documentation, claiming perpetual easement rights from the original owner Nazario Crisostomo for $12.40. When the Leyva family, who inherited the property, sued for damages in 1973, MERALCO could not produce any written evidence of the alleged grant, relying only on secondary evidence through Gardner's deposition. The Supreme Court affirmed lower courts' rulings that MERALCO failed to prove contract execution and that its 43-year possession was merely tolerated, not adverse, thus unable to ripen into prescriptive rights. The Court awarded the Leyvas P200,000 in temperate damages, annual compensation of P6,000, attorney's fees, and interest, recognizing their property rights were violated while they remained liable for taxes on unusable land due to high-voltage transmission lines.