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Title	IDs & Reference #s	Background	Primary Holding	Subject Matter
Matabuena vs. Cervantes (31st March 1971)	AK202413 38 SCRA 284 , 148 Phil. 295 , No. L-28771	The case arose from a gap in the Civil Code, which explicitly prohibited donations between legally married spouses but was silent regarding donations between partners in a common-law relationship. The dispute centered on whether the policy behind the law—preventing the stronger party from exercising undue influence over the weaker party—should extend to irregular unions, thereby nullifying a land donation made by a man to his partner prior to their eventual marriage.	The statutory prohibition against donations between spouses during marriage (Article 133 of the Civil Code) applies with equal force to donations between persons living together as husband and wife without the benefit of marriage, based on public policy considerations and the need to prevent undue influence in such relationships.	Persons and Family Law Property relations; Art. 87
Gongon vs. Court of Appeals (30th April 1970)	AK161579 32 SCRA 412 , G.R. No. L-24421	The case arose from the government's acquisition of the Tambobong Estate in Malabon, Rizal, from the Roman Catholic Church on December 31, 1947, under Commonwealth Act No. 539. This law authorized the President to acquire private lands and subdivide them for resale to bona fide tenants, occupants, or other qualified individuals. The lot in question, Lot 18-B, Block 23, was part of this estate. Amada Aquino was the original lessee, who then sublet the property to Matias Gongon in 1934. When the government began reselling the lots, both Aquino (as lessee) and Gongon (as occupant) filed applications to purchase the same lot, leading to a legal conflict over who had the preferential right.	The preferential right to purchase a lot under Commonwealth Act No. 539, which gives preference first to "bona fide tenants" and second to "occupants," is not absolute and must be interpreted in line with the constitutional principle of social justice. Where the parties are not on an equal footing, as when the lessee is a non-occupant and already a landowner while the sublessee is the actual occupant and landless, equity and justice demand that the preferential right be granted to the actual occupant to fulfill the law's purpose of giving land to the landless.	Persons and Family Law
Laura Corpus, et al. vs. Felardo Paje and The Victory Liner Transportation Co., Inc. (31st July 1969)	AK122160 G.R. No. L-26737	The case originated from a vehicular accident on December 23, 1956, in Lubao, Pampanga. A passenger bus owned by Victory Liner Transportation Co., Inc. and driven by Felardo Paje collided with a jeep driven by Clemente Marcia. The collision resulted in the death of Clemente Marcia and physical injuries to two other individuals. This event triggered both criminal and civil proceedings to determine liability for the death and damages.	The acquittal of an accused in a criminal case for reckless imprudence on the ground that the fact from which civil liability might arise did not exist is a bar to a subsequent civil action for damages based on the same act (delict). Alternatively, if the civil action is founded on quasi-delict, it must be filed within the four-year prescriptive period from the date of the incident, which is not interrupted by the institution of the criminal action.	Persons and Family Law Article 33, Civil Code
Bellis vs. Bellis (6th June 1967)	AK036910 20 SCRA 358 , G.R. No. L-23678	Amos G. Bellis, a citizen of Texas, U.S.A., had legitimate children from two marriages and three illegitimate children. He executed a will in the Philippines, where some of his assets were located, providing specific legacies for his first wife and his three illegitimate children, with the remainder of his estate going to his seven legitimate children. At the time of his death, he was a resident of Texas. The will did not conform to the Philippine system of legitimes, which grants compulsory shares to illegitimate children.	The national law of a foreign decedent determines the intrinsic validity of their will, the order of succession, the amount of successional rights, and the capacity to succeed, even if the properties are located in the Philippines; Philippine laws on legitimes and public policy do not apply to the succession of foreign nationals.	Persons and Family Law Wills and Succession
Wassmer vs. Velez (26th December 1964)	AK912210 12 SCRA 648 , G.R. No. L-20089	Francisco Velez and Beatriz Wassmer were engaged and had formally planned their wedding. This included securing a marriage license, distributing invitations, purchasing attire, and receiving bridal shower gifts. Two days before the set date, Velez suddenly left a note cancelling the wedding, citing his mother's opposition. He then sent a telegram promising to return but never did, prompting Wassmer to sue for damages due to the public humiliation and expenses incurred.	While a mere breach of promise to marry is not an actionable wrong in itself, a person who, after making formal wedding preparations (such as applying for a license, sending invitations, and preparing for the ceremony), abruptly and unjustifiably cancels the wedding, causing public humiliation and injury, commits an act contrary to good customs and can be held liable for damages under Article 21 of the Civil Code.	Persons and Family Law
Brehm vs. Republic (30th September 1963)	AK978065 9 SCRA 172 , G.R. No. L-18566	Gilbert R. Brehm, an American citizen serving in the U.S. Navy and temporarily assigned at Subic Bay, married Ester Mira, a Filipina citizen. Ester had a daughter, Elizabeth, from a previous relationship with another American who had left the country. After their marriage, the couple and the child resided in Manila, with Gilbert providing care and support. To formalize their family unit and give the child a legitimate status, the spouses filed a joint petition to adopt Elizabeth.	The absolute prohibition in Article 335(4) of the New Civil Code, which states that non-resident aliens "cannot adopt," is a mandatory provision that disqualifies a non-resident alien from adopting in the Philippines, even if he is the step-father of the child to be adopted.	Persons and Family Law
Aznar vs. Garcia (31st January 1963)	AK099588 7 SCRA 95 , No. L-16749	Edward E. Christensen, a citizen of the State of California, lived for most of his life in the Philippines, where he died. He left a will that provided a legacy of P3,600 to Helen Christensen Garcia, who had been judicially declared his acknowledged natural child in a separate proceeding, while leaving the bulk of his substantial estate to his other daughter, Maria Lucy Christensen. This disposition was valid under the internal law of California, which grants testators complete freedom of disposition. However, it contravened Philippine law, which designates acknowledged natural children as forced heirs entitled to a specific portion of the estate known as the legitime. The conflict arose as to which law should govern the intrinsic validity of the will's provisions.	When Philippine law directs the application of a foreign national's law to matters of succession, the term "national law" is understood to encompass the entirety of that foreign law, including its conflict-of-laws rules. If the foreign law contains a conflict-of-laws rule that refers the matter back to the law of the decedent's domicile, the Philippine court shall accept this referral (renvoi) and apply its own internal law on succession.	Persons and Family Law
Mendoza vs. Alcala (29th August 1961)	AK406778 G.R. No. L-14305 , 2 SCRA 1032	The dispute originated from a transaction where Gaudencio T. Mendoza gave Maximo M. Alcala the sum of P1,100. A receipt signed by Alcala indicated this amount was an advance payment for 100 cavans of palay that Alcala promised to deliver by a specific date. When Alcala failed to deliver the palay, Mendoza initiated criminal proceedings for estafa against him.	An acquittal in a criminal case on the ground that the accused's guilt has not been proven beyond a reasonable doubt does not extinguish the civil liability arising from the same act or omission and does not bar a subsequent civil action to enforce it.	Persons and Family Law Article 29 & 33, New Civil Code
Hermosisima vs. Court of Appeals, et al. (30th September 1960)	AK130576 109 Phil. 629 , G.R. No. L-14628	The case originated from an intimate relationship between Soledad Cagigas, a 36-year-old former teacher, and Francisco Hermosisima, an apprentice pilot nearly ten years her junior. Their relationship led to Cagigas becoming pregnant. Hermosisima promised to marry her but subsequently married another woman. Cagigas filed a suit for acknowledgment of their child, support, and moral damages for the broken promise. The lower courts granted the moral damages, framing the petitioner's actions as a form of seduction, which prompted the petitioner to elevate the issue to the Supreme Court.	An action for breach of a promise to marry is not a valid basis for recovering moral damages under Philippine law, as Congress deliberately omitted provisions from the Civil Code that would have sanctioned such claims.	Persons and Family Law
Ocampo vs. Florenciano (23rd February 1960)	AK805771 107 Phil. 35 , G.R. No. L-13553	The case arises from a petition for legal separation filed by a husband against his wife after discovering her in the act of sexual intercourse with another man in 1955. This incident followed a history of the wife's previous infidelity in 1951 and her eventual abandonment of the conjugal home in 1952.	A decree of legal separation may be granted even if the defendant spouse admits to the offense or expresses conformity to the separation, provided that the decree is based on independent evidence of the ground (adultery) and not solely on a confession of judgment, and provided there is no collusion between the parties to simulate the ground.	Persons and Family Law Legal separation
Velayo, etc. vs. Shell Co. of the Phils., et al. (31st October 1956)	AK120965 100 Phil. 186 , G.R. No. L-7817	Commercial Air Lines, Inc. (CALI), a Philippine corporation, was in a state of insolvency, owing significant debts to multiple creditors, including a substantial amount to Shell Company of the Philippine Islands, Ltd. (Shell) for fuel supplies. CALI's management, seeking to avoid formal insolvency proceedings and ensure an equitable settlement, convened a meeting of its principal creditors to disclose its financial situation and discuss a plan for the fair distribution of its remaining assets, one of which was a valuable Douglas C-54 airplane located in California, USA.	A creditor who, after participating in a meeting with other creditors of an insolvent debtor to arrange for a fair pro-rata distribution of assets, takes advantage of information obtained therein to secretly assign its credit to another entity to attach the debtor's property abroad, acts in bad faith and contrary to morals and public policy, and is liable for damages to the insolvent's estate under the Civil Code.	Persons and Family Law
Republic of the Philippines vs. Encarnacion (29th December 1950)	AK028894 87 Phil. 843 , G.R. No. L-3936	The case arose from a naturalization proceeding governed by the then-existing law. A new statute, Republic Act No. 530, was enacted, fundamentally altering the naturalization process by mandating that a decision granting citizenship would only become executory after a two-year waiting period from its promulgation. The dispute centered on whether this new law applied to the respondent, Si Kee, whose naturalization decision was set to become final and executory on the very same day that R.A. 530 was approved by the President. The core of the conflict was the interpretation of the law's effective date and its applicability to cases that were on the cusp of finality.	A law that states it shall take effect on the day of its approval becomes effective from the very first moment of that day, as the law does not recognize fractions of a day for the purpose of determining a statute's effectivity.	Persons and Family Law
Lopez vs. Cuaycong et al. (24th March 1944)	AK804682 74 Phil. 601 , No. 46079	The case stems from a dispute over the validity of a sale of a specific parcel of land (Lot 178-B) located within a larger hacienda owned in common by the widow of Cuaycong, her adult children, and three minor daughters. The widow and adult children sold this specific lot to Lopez Sugar Central Mill Co., Inc. (the Intervenor) without the participation of the minors and before the hacienda had been legally partitioned. The Intervenor subsequently built a distillery on the lot. Previous court actions had variously declared the sale void (partially or entirely) and ordered the removal of the buildings, prompting this specific resolution on a motion for reconsideration.	A contract purporting to sell a specific, concrete portion of co-owned property prior to partition is not void; it is valid and binding as an alienation of the seller's abstract and undivided share in the community property, subject to the ultimate result of the partition.	Persons and Family Law Property relations; Liquidation
Nable Jose vs. Nable Jose (11th December 1916)	AK626903 41 Phil. 713 , No. 7397	Mariano Nable Jose was married to Paz Borja, with whom he had several children. Paz Borja died in 1898, dissolving the marriage, but the conjugal partnership was never liquidated. Mariano continued to manage the properties acquired during the marriage. Years later, he incurred debts and executed mortgages on these properties in favor of Standard Oil Company of New York, Amparo Nable Jose, and Carmen Castro. When Standard Oil sought to foreclose, the children of Paz Borja intervened, arguing that their father had no authority to mortgage their mother's half-share of the unliquidated community property.	The surviving husband, as the exclusive administrator of the conjugal partnership upon the death of the wife, possesses the full power to sell or mortgage the community property to satisfy partnership obligations pending liquidation; the heirs of the deceased wife hold no vested legal title to specific property until the liquidation is complete and the "net remainder" is determined.	Persons and Family Law Liquidation