Puerto Rico Housing Authority v. Sagastivelza Álvarez
Puerto Rico Housing Authority v. Sagastivelza Álvarez
Opinion of the Court
delivered the opinion of the Court.
On December 8, 1944, the Puerto Rico Housing Authority filed in the District Court of Arecibo a complaint against Sa-
After the transcript of the record was sent to this Court and the briefs of the plaintiff, as appellee and of defendants as appellants were filed, the defendant Saturnina Sagasti-velza Alvarez filed in this Court a “Motion requesting the reversion of the title and possession of the property.” After setting forth most of the facts above stated, she substantially alleges that although five years and four months have elapsed since the filing of the complaint, and nine months since judgment was rendered ordering as definitive, the condemnation, the plaintiff has not made use of the property mentioned in the complaint; that according to § 7 of the Eminent Domain Act of March 12, 1903 (Laws of 1903, p. 50; Revised Sta
The plaintiff opposed that motion alleging among other things that at the present time the only right of the owner of the condemned property is that granted to him by § 1 of Act No. 441 of May 14, 1947 (p. 920), as amended by Act No. 375 of May 14, 1949 (p. 1148) consisting in a preferential right to reacquire said property when the condemnor “decides to alienate, in whole or in part, the properties condemned” ;
Shortly before a hearing on the motion of defendant Sa-gastivelza Alvarez, set at her request, was held, the plaintiff filed a supplemental motion whereby it alleges that this Court lacks jurisdiction to take cognizance and decide said motion in the first instance, as an incident to the appeal.
Jurisdictional questions are privileged and should be decided with preference, and when the court lacks jurisdiction it is its duty to so declare. Pérez v. District Court, 70 P.R.R. 624; López v. District Court, 68 P.R.R. 291, 294. Consequently, we shall discuss below the jurisdictional questions raised.
Section 1 of the Act entitled “An Act establishing the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico as a court of appeals,” approved on March 12,1903, p. 59, (Revised Statutes of 1911, p. 241) provides “That the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico shall hereafter be a court of appeals and not a court of cassation ...” In view of this provision, this Court has mainly entertained appeals under the different statutes authorizing appeals to this Court. In entertaining such appeals we have repeatedly held that this Court will not consider or decide any question not raised or decided by the court or administrative body from whose judgment or decision the appeal has been taken. Figueroa v. Guerra, 69 P.R.R. 565, 573; F. Rodríguez Hnos. & Co. v. Aboy, 66 P.R.R. 521; Flores v. Silva, 60 P.R.R. 363; McCormick v. McCormick, 52 P.R.R. 669. Was the question now before us by virtue of the “Motion requesting the reversion of the title and possession of the property” raised or decided by the Court of Eminent Domain of Puerto Rico? Unquestionably not. The parties so admitted it at the hearing. Consequently, we should not consider the motion as an integral part of the appeal before us.
On the other hand, although this Court has original jurisdiction to take cognizance of particular causes, it has
As defendant’s motion does not raise a question over which this Court has original jurisdiction by express provision of law, we should not entertain it in the first instance either.
An order will be entered overruling the motion.
Section 7 of the Eminent Domain Act of 1903, as amended by Act of March 12, 1908 (p. 94) and as it was in force until it was repealed by $ 3 of Act No. 105 of May 7, 1948 (pp. 240, 246) provided that:
“In all cases of condemnation, sale, transfer or voluntary alienation of property for the performance of a work of public utility, whenever such work is not completed within the time fixed by the concession, or, in case no time is so fixed, within the term of six months, counting from the date on which the final decision ordering the condemnation was rendered, the party dispossed or who voluntarily sold, transferred or encumbered his right of ownership - shall have a right of action to recover the property condemned, returning the amount received.”
'Section 1 of Act No. 441 of 1947, as amended by Act No. 375 of 1949, supra, recites insofar as pertinent thus:
“All natural or artificial persons against whom condemnation proceedings were prosecuted by The People of Puerto Rico or by any of the departments, agencies, or instrumentalities thereof, shall have the preferential right to reacquire possession of and title to said properties whenever The People of Puerto Rico or the department, agency, or instrumentality thereof which has the title to said property registered in its name, decides to alienate, in whole or in part, the properties condemned; ...”
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.