Jose Baritua v. Honorable Court of Appeals

Summary

This case arose from a vehicular accident between a tricycle and bus that killed the tricycle driver Bienvenido Nacario. The bus owner settled with the deceased's widow for P18,500.00 and obtained a release of claim. Later, the deceased's parents sued for damages, claiming they bought the tricycle and paid funeral expenses. The RTC dismissed the case, but the CA reversed and awarded damages. The Supreme Court reinstated the RTC decision, holding that payment to the widow as surviving spouse and compulsory heir properly extinguished the obligation. Under the Civil Code, parents are not compulsory heirs when there is a surviving spouse and child. The settlement agreement validly released the defendants from liability, and the parents' claims are against the estate, not the defendants.