A. M. Barretto v. E. J. Lane

Summary

This 1915 Supreme Court case involved a contract dispute over the sale of a property purchase option. Barretto sold Lane an option to buy Tayabas Sawmill Company property for P85,000, with payment due December 31, 1913, unless Lane transferred the acquired property without protecting Barretto's interests, which would accelerate payment. Barretto sued in August 1912, claiming Lane acquired then retransferred the property improperly. The Supreme Court affirmed dismissal, holding that Lane never legally acquired the sawmill property since no delivery occurred under Civil Code requirements. The alleged conveyance withheld possession until payment of P30,000, which never happened. Since Lane never obtained legal title, he could not transfer or mortgage the property to trigger early payment obligations. The case demonstrates strict application of Civil Code delivery requirements for valid property transfers and contract interpretation principles regarding conditional obligations.