Miguel Semira v. Court of Appeals

Summary

This case involves a property dispute over Lot 4221 in Taysan, Batangas, where Miguel Semira purchased land from Cipriano Ramirez, who had earlier acquired it from Buenaventura An. The conflict arose when Semira occupied the entire 2,200 square meters (the actual surveyed area), while An claimed he only sold 822.5 square meters and that the excess belonged to his adjacent property. The Supreme Court applied Article 1542 of the Civil Code, ruling that in lump sum land sales with definite boundaries, the boundaries—not the stated area—determine the scope of the sale. Since the original deed specified definite boundaries encompassing 2,200 square meters, An was obligated to deliver the entire area within those boundaries despite the understated area in the documents. The Court emphasized that the ownership determination was provisional, applicable only to resolve the possession issue in this forcible entry case.