Jacinta Escaño v. The Heirs of the Deceased Fernando Escaño

Summary

This case involved Jacinta Escaño's attempt to recover P20,791.81 from the heirs of Fernando Escaño, comprising her estate share and proceeds from a 1910 land sale. She sought to offset this against a P16,739.89 judgment against her. The Supreme Court affirmed the lower court's dismissal, ruling that the plaintiff's claims were actually against the society 'Viuda e Hijos de Escaño,' not the individual heirs. The Court applied Civil Code Article 1195, establishing that legal compensation requires mutual creditor-debtor relationships between the same parties in their own right. The case demonstrates the legal principle that corporate entities are distinct from their individual members, and that proper parties must be sued for recovery of debts.