García Torréns v. Stella Oms
García Torréns v. Stella Oms
Opinion of the Court
delivered the opinion of the Court.
The appellant purchased a house which had been erected on another’s land. Subsequently the lot was sold to the ap-pellee. On January 8, 1947 the appellee filed the complaint herein claiming the house by right of accession and deposited in the lower court, at the disposal of the defendant, the amount of $1,000 which he alleged was the cost of the materials used in the building, plus labor, minus depreciation. He also stated that the defendant was not paying any rental whatsoever for the lot. The defendant answered, that she possessed the lot by virtue of a month-to-month lease which had been entered into between the former owner of the house and the former owner of the lot for a monthly rental, of ;$4 which she had paid punctually, first to the former owner- and later
The lower court granted the complaint upon payment of $1,500 to the defendant and ordered the latter to leave the house at the disposal of the plaintiff within forty days counted from the notice of the judgment.
In rendering this decision the lower court followed the doctrine which this Court has repeatedly established to the effect that the right of accession arises when the builder in good faith constructs on another’s land without a lease of the lot or in case there is one, When for any reason the lease has terminated. Rivera v. Santiago, 56 P.R.R. 361 and Palermo v. District Court, 58 P.R.R. 191.
The defendant concentrates her attack on the doctrine applied by the court, but this doctrine is deeply rooted in this jurisdiction, and as appellant does hot set up any new argument which has not been previously considered by this Court it seems idle to pass upoh it again.
The pMhti# Was entitled to acquire the house by right of accession; but trying to evade the holding of this Court in Figueroa v. Rodríguez, 68 P.R.R. 248, to the effect that the action of accession lieS but that plaintiff is not entitled, within that action, to the possession of the house, he alleges that Said case was erroneously decided. He rests his 'contention Oh that the title derived frote accession amounts to ownership in fee simple and that the latter includes the right of possession. Under ordinary Circumstances we Would uphold plaintiff s contention- but due to the emergency of housing shortage which has given rise to legislation on the matter* Wé cannot agree with plaintiff in that merely be
In the case at bar the lower court figured the cost of the-material used in the house and labor in the amount of $1,500. and as to this point there is no controversy. Accordingly,, the judgment appealed from shall be modified by merely granting to the plaintiff title of the house by right of accession and by eliminating the pronouncement as to the eviction, of the defendant, leaving the parties to litigate the question pursuant to the Federal Act and Regulations promulgated, thereunder.
The judgment is modified in the sense indicated above and as modified, affirmed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.