- Petitioner
- Mediran
- Respondent
- Villanueva
- Citation
- G.R. No. L-12838
- Court
- Supreme Court
- Division
- First Division
- Ponente
- Street, J.
- Decided
- March 9, 1918
Summary
Felix Mediran sued for forcible entry and unlawful detainer after defendants Villanueva brothers unlawfully entered land he had possessed for years and excluded him. The Supreme Court established crucial precedents that: (1) force in forcible entry includes mere exclusion without consent, requiring no violence; (2) actual possession, not ownership, determines protection rights; (3) defendants cannot defeat jurisdiction by claiming ownership; (4) justice of peace courts have jurisdiction over possession even when title is disputed, provided relief sought is restoration of possession only. The Court reversed the lower court's decision favoring defendants and restored possession to plaintiff, emphasizing that possessory actions protect prior possessors pending determination of ownership rights in appropriate courts.