Martínez-Noriega v. Successors of Cosio
Martínez-Noriega v. Successors of Cosio
Opinion of the Court
delivered the opinion of the court.
On October 13, 1925, Successors of Cosío & Primo brought an action of debt against Enrique Noriega to recover the sum of $992.88 as the .balance in their favor of a current account in his name and for the purpose of securing the effectiveness of the judgment they caused the marshal to attach, on January 21,1926, fifty-five sacks 'of coffee stored in a house on the Los Cocos plantation situated in the ward of Pellejas of Adjuntas.
After that attachment Angel Martinez Noriega filed a complaint in intervention and alleged that the coffee belonged to him because it had been produced by the said plantation which he bought from Enrique Noriega by a public deed of July 1, 1911, recorded in the registry of property shortly thereafter.
Successors of Cosío & Primo, defendants in intervention, admitted that the coffee was a product of that plantation, but alleged' as a defense that it belonged to Enrique Noriega because the sale of that property made by him in 1911 to Martinez was simulated, fraudulent and made by Enrique Noriega in order to defraud his creditors.
After trial the court sustained the complaint in intervention with the other consequent pronouncements and from that judgment the aforesaid firm took the present appeal.
Although the appellant assigns many errors against the statements made by the lower court in support of its judgments, we may disregard them because, if sustained, they would not justify a reversal of the judgment appealed from since it must be affirmed for the reason which we shall state.
The fundamental question in this litigation is whether Enrique Noriega sold the Los Cocos plantation in order to defraud his creditors Successors of Cosio & Primo.
We have examined the evidence submitted at the trial and do not find that the appellants proved that the sale of Los Cocos plantation made by Noriega in 1911 was for the purpose of defrauding his creditors and that the latter could not collect their claims then in any other manner. On the contrary, it results that at that time he owned other properties, one which he sold later to Gfuillermo Colón and another which was auctioned years thereafter by Armstrong. Therefore, as he owned those properties when he sold to the inter-venor the Los Cocos plantation in 1911, it can not be held that his creditor could not collect his claim without obtaining the rescission of that sale. Moreover, the evidence shows also that Cosío & Primo, whose credits were acquired by their successor, the appellant, wete not creditors of Enrique Noriega on July 1, 1911, when the sale whose rescission is sought was made, for as the current account of Noriega with Cosío & Primo' was opened on May 11, 1911, by a small
Therefore, as it does not appear that Cosio & Primo, predecessors of the appellant, were creditors of Enrique Noriega when he sold his Los Cocos plantation on July 1, 1911; and as it appears that after that sale Noriega owned other properties, it can not be held that the sale of the property was made in 1911 to defraud creditors Cosio & Primo. Consequently, a rescission of that sale can not be ordered and the judgment appealed from must be affirmed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.