SOLEDAD L. LAVADIA vs.

HEIRS OF JUAN LUCES LUNA, represented by

GREGORIO Z. LUNA and EUGENIA ZABALLERO-LUNA, G.R. No. 171914,
July 23, 2014, J. Lucas P. Bersamin
Divorce between Filipinos is void and ineffectual under the nationality rule adopted by
Philippine law. Hence, any settlement of property between the parties of the first marriage
involving Filipinos submitted as an incident of a divorce obtained in a foreign country lacks
competent judicial approval, and cannot be enforceable against the assets of the husband who
contracts a subsequent marriage.
Atty. Lunas subsequent marriage to Soledad was void for being bigamous, on the ground that
the marriage between Atty. Luna and Eugenia had not been dissolved by the Divorce Decree
rendered by the CFI of Sto. Domingo in the Dominican Republic but had subsisted until the death
of Atty. Luna.
Given the subsistence of the first marriage between Atty. Luna and Eugenia, the presumption
that Atty. Luna acquired the properties out of his own personal funds and effort remained. It
should then be justly concluded that the properties in litis legally pertained to their conjugal
partnership of gains as of the time of his death. Consequently, the sole ownership of the 25/100
pro indiviso share of Atty. Luna in the condominium unit, and of the law books pertained to the
respondents as the lawful heirs of Atty. Luna.
LBP vs. ONG, , G.R. NO. 190755, November 24, 2010

Land Bank faults the CA for finding that novation given that substitution of debtors
was made without its consent, thus, it was not bound to recognize the substitution
under the rules on novation. Novation which consists in substituting a new debtor in
the place of the original one, may be made even without the knowledge or against
the will of the latter, but not without the consent of the creditor.

UP v. Philab, G.R. NO. 152411, Sept. 29, 2004 439 SCRA 467
Whether or not UP is liable to pay PHILAB considering that it is only a donee of
FEMF, FEMF being the one which funded the project, and despite being a donee,
unjust enrichment still applies to UP. In order that accion in rem verso may prosper,
the essential elements must be present: (1) that the defendant has been enriched, (2)
that the plaintiff has suffered a loss, (3) that the enrichment of the defendant is
without just or legal ground, and (4) that the plaintiff has no other action based
on contract, quasi-contract, crime or quasi-delict.

WILLAWARE PRODUCTS CORPORATION vs. JESICHRIS MANUFACTURING

CORPORATION G.R. No. 195549, September 3, 2014

The concept of "unfair competition" under Article 28 is very much broader than that covered by
intellectual property laws. Article 28 of the Civil Code provides that "unfair competition in
agricultural, commercial or industrial enterprises or in labor through the use of force,
intimidation, deceit, machination or any other unjust, oppressive or high-handed method shall
give rise to a right of action by the person who thereby suffers damage."
Continental Steel v. Montao, G.R. NO. 182836 , Oct.13, 2009 603 SCRA
621
Whether or not, a death of a fetus is considered a death of a dependent of the parent.
One need not acquire civil personality first before he/she could die. Even a child
inside the womb already has life. No less than the Constitution recognizes the life
of the unborn from conception, that the State must protect equally with the life of
the mother. If the unborn already has life, then the cessation thereof even prior to
the child being delivered, qualifies as death.

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES v. LIBERTY D. ALBIOS, G.R. No. 198780. October

16, 2013

A marriage, contracted for the sole purpose of acquiring American citizenship is NOT void ab
initio on the ground of lack of consent. Under Article 2 of the Family Code, consent is an
essential requisite of marriage. Article 4 of the same Code provides that the absence of any
essential requisite shall render a marriage void ab initio. Under said Article 2, for consent to be
valid, it must be (1) freely given and (2) made in the presence of a solemnizing officer. A "freely
given" consent requires that the contracting parties willingly and deliberately enter into the
marriage. Consent must be real in the sense that it is not vitiated nor rendered defective by any
of the vices of consent under Articles 45 and 46 of the Family Code, such as fraud, force,
intimidation, and undue influence. Consent must also be conscious or intelligent, in that the
parties must be capable of intelligently understanding the nature of, and both the beneficial or
unfavorable consequences of their act. Their understanding should not be affected by insanity,
intoxication, drugs, or hypnotism.

Alcantara v. Alcantara, G.R. NO. 167746 , Aug. 28,2007 531 SCRA 446

Whether or not, a marriage license issued by a municipality or city to a non-resident invalidates

the license. Issuance of a marriage license in a city or municipality, not the residence of either
of the contracting parties, and issuance of a marriage license despite the absence of publication
or prior to the completion of the 10-day period for publication are considered mere irregularities
that do not affect the validity of the marriage

Corpuz v. Sto. Tomas, G.R.NO. 186571, Aug. 11, 2010

In Gerberts case, since both the foreign divorce decree and the national law of the alien,
recognizing his or her capacity to obtain a divorce, purport to be official acts of a sovereign
authority, Section 24, Rule 132 of the Rules of Court comes into play. This Section requires
proof, either by (1) official publications or (2) copies attested by the officer having legal custody
of the documents. If the copies of official records are not kept in the Philippines, these must be
(a) accompanied by a certificate issued by the proper diplomatic or consular officer in the
Philippine foreign service stationed in the foreign country in which the record is kept and (b)
authenticated by the seal of his office.
MINORU FUJIKI v. MARIA PAZ GALELA MARINAY, G.R. No. 196049, June 26, 2013

The Rule on Declaration of Absolute Nullity of Void Marriages and Annulment of Voidable
Marriages (A.M. No. 02-11-10-SC) does not apply in a petition to recognize a foreign judgment
relating to the status of a marriage where one of the parties is a citizen of a foreign country.
Procedure in declaration of nullity of marriage
Carlos v. Sandoval G.R. NO. 179922 , Dec. 16, 2008 574 SCRA 116
Whether a marriage may be declared void ab initio through a judgment on the
pleadings or a summary judgment and without the benefit of a trial. The grounds
for declaration of absolute nullity of marriage must be proved. Neither judgment on
the pleadings nor summary judgment is allowed. So is confession of judgment
disallowed.
Declaration of Nullity; Art.40; Prejudicial Question- Section 7, Rule 117, 2000
Rules of Criminal Procedure; Arts.35 (4) & 41, FC; Art.349 RPC; Civil &
Criminal Bigamy; Art. 83, NCC
Judicial Declaration of nullity of marriages

Ablaza v. Republic, G.R. NO. 158298 , Aug. 11, 2010 628 SCRA 27
Other than for purposes of remarriage, no judicial action is necessary to declare a
marriage an absolute nullity. For other purposes, such as but not limited to
determination of heirship, legitimacy or illegitimacy of a child, settlement of estate,
dissolution of property regime, or a criminal case for that matter, the court may pass
upon the validity of marriage even in a suit not directly instituted to question the same
so long as it is essential to the determination of the case.
Bolos v. Bolos, G.R. NO. 186400 , Oct. 20, 2010 634 SCRA 429
Whether or not A.M. NO. 02-11-10-SC RULE ON DECLARATION OF
ABSOLUTE NULLITY OF VOID MARRIAGES AND ANNULMENT
OF VOIDABLE MARRIAGES is applicable to marriages solemnized before the
effectivity of Family Code. NO. The Rule on Declaration of Absolute Nullity of Void
Marriages and Annulment of Voidable Marriages as contained in A.M. NO. 02-11-
10-SC which the Court promulgated on March 15, 2003

Juliano-Llave v. Republic, G.R. NO. 169766 , Mar. 30, 2011 646 SCRA 637

The marriage between the late Sen. Tamano and Zorayda was celebrated in 1958, solemnized
under civil and Muslim rites. The only law in force governing marriage relationships between
Muslims and non-Muslims alike was the Civil Code of 1950, under the provisions of which only
one marriage can exist at any given time.
Abbas v. Abbas, G.R. NO. 183896 , Jan. 30, 2013 689 SCRA 636
The Municipal Civil Registrar of Carmona, Cavite, where the marriage license of
Gloria and Syed was allegedly issued, issued a certification to the effect that no such
marriage license for Gloria and Syed was issued, and that the serial number of the
marriage license pertained to another couple, Arlindo Getalado and Myra Mabilangan.
The fact that the names in said license do not correspond to those of Gloria and Syed
does not overturn the presumption that the registrar conducted a diligent search of
the records of her office.

Compare the case of Abbas v. Abbas and Alcantara v. Alcantara Sy v. CA,

G.R. NO. 127263 , Apr. 12, 2000 330 SCRA 550
In this case the marriage license was issued on September 17,1974, almost one
year after the ceremony took place on November 15, 1973. The ineluctable conclusion
is that the marriage was indeed contracted without a marriage license.

Agraviador v. Agraviador G.R. NO.170729 , Dec. 08, 2010 637 SCRA 519
In the present case, the petitioners testimony failed to establish that the respondents
condition is a manifestation of a disordered personality rooted on some incapacitating
or debilitating psychological condition that makes her completely unable to discharge
the essential marital obligations. If at all, the petitioner merely showed that the
respondent had some personality defects that showed their manifestation during the
marriage; his testimony sorely lacked details necessary to establish that the
respondents defects existed at the inception of the marriage.

Article 8. Stare Decisis; Case Law; See also Article 36, FC; article 9, 10, 11,
12 , 13, 14 NCC
Ting v. Velez-Ting, G.R. NO. 166562, Mar. 31, 2009 582 SCRA 694
The rule of stare decisis is not inflexible, whether it shall be followed or departed from,
is a question entirely within the discretion of the court, which is again called upon to
consider a question once decided. It is only when a prior ruling of this Court is
overruled, and a different view is adopted, that the new doctrine may have to be applied
prospectively in favor of parties who have relied on the old doctrine and have acted
in good faith, in accordance therewith under the familiar rule of "lex prospicit, non
respicit

Toring v. Toring, G.R. NO. 165321 , Aug. 03, 2010 626 SCRA 389
We are in no way convinced that a mere narration of the statements of Ricardo and
Richardson, coupled with the results of the psychological tests administered only on
Ricardo, without more, already constitutes sufficient basis for the conclusion that
Teresita suffered from Narcissistic Personality Disorder. This Court has long been
negatively critical in considering psychological evaluations, presented in evidence,
derived solely from one-sided sources, particularly from the spouse seeking the nullity
of the marriage.
Rep. v. Galang G.R. NO. 168335 , Jun. 6, 2011 650 SCRA 524
In like manner, Juvys acts of falsifying the respondents signature to encash a
check, of stealing the respondents ATM, and of squandering a huge portion of the
P15,000.00 that the respondent entrusted to her, while no doubt reprehensible,
cannot automatically be equated with a psychological disorder, especially when the
evidence shows that these were mere isolated incidents and not recurring acts.
Jarillo v.People, G.R. NO.164435 , Sept. 29, 2009 601 SCRA 236
Whether or not the declaration of the first marriage as void ab initio on the ground
of psychological incapacity is a defense for the crime of bigamy. In this case, even
if petitioner eventually obtained a declaration that his first marriage was void ab
initio, the point is, both the first and the second marriage were subsisting before the
first marriage was annulled.

Antone v. Beronilla, G.R. NO.183824, Dec. 08, 2010 637 SCRA 615
To conclude, the issue on the declaration of nullity of the marriage between petitioner
and respondent only after the latter contracted the subsequent marriage is, therefore,
immaterial for the purpose of establishing that the facts alleged in the information for
Bigamy does not constitute an offense. Following the same rationale, neither may such
defense be interposed by the respondent in his motion to quash by way of exception
to the established rule that facts contrary to the allegations in the information are
matters of defense which may be raised only during the presentation of evidence.

Valdez v. Republic, G.R. NO.180863 , Sept. 08, 2009 598 SCRA 646

Since death is presumed to have taken place by the seventh year of absence, Sofio is to be
presumed dead starting October 1982. To retroactively apply the provisions of the Family Code
requiring petitioner to exhibit "well-founded belief" will, ultimately, result in the invalidation of
her second marriage, which was valid at the time it was celebrated.
Rep. v. Granada, G.R. NO. 187512, June 13, 2012 672 SCRA 432
As a matter of course, it follows that no appeal can be had of the trial court's judgment
in a summary proceeding for the declaration of presumptive death of an absent spouse
under Article 41 of the Family Code. It goes without saying, however, that an
aggrieved party may file a petition for certiorari to question abuse of discretion
amounting to lack of jurisdiction.

Rep. v. Tango, G.R. NO.161062 , Jul. 31, 2009 594 SCRA 560

By express provision of law, the judgment of the court in a summary proceeding shall be
immediately final and executory. As a matter of course, it follows that no appeal can be had of
the trial courts judgment in a summary proceeding for the declaration of presumptive death of
an absent spouse under Article 41 of the Family Code
CELERINA J. SANTOS vs. RICARDO T. SANTOS, G.R. No. 187061, 08 OCTOBER 2014

The proper remedy for a judicial declaration of presumptive death obtained by extrinsic fraud is
an action to annul the judgment. An affidavit of reappearance is not the proper remedy when the
person declared presumptively dead has never been absent.

Dio v. Dio, G.R. NO. 178044, Jan. 19, 2011 640 SCRA 178

The trial court erred in ordering that a decree of absolute nullity of marriage shall be issued only
after liquidation, partition and distribution of the parties properties under Article 147 of the
Family Code. The ruling has no basis because Section 19(1) of the Rule does not apply to cases
governed under Articles 147 and 148 of the Family Code.