Pereira v. Commercial Transport Co.
Pereira v. Commercial Transport Co.
Opinion of the Court
delivered the opinion of the Court.
On January 30, 1950 the lower court entered an order refusing to set aside an attachment levied without bond on defendant’s personal property on the ground that the chattel
Subsequently, on motion of the defendant, the court, relying on Texas Co. (P. R.) Inc. v. Estrada, 50 P.R.R. 709; Nine v. Avilés, 53 P.R.R. 471 and Nine v. Ortiz, 67 P.R.R. 883, reconsidered its former decision and ordered the dissolution of the attachment for failure to comply with the provisions of § 10 of the Act already cited and ordered the surrender to defendant of the vehicles attached by plaintiff.
On appeal, plaintiff contends that the lower court erred (1) in dissolving the attachment levied and (2) in ordering the delivery of the vehicles to defendant.
The attachment herein was levied on January 17, 1949 on two trucks belonging to defendant, in order to
At the hearing of the motion for the dissolution of the attachment — to which motion plaintiff objected — plaintiff did not introduce any evidence whatsoever in support of his allegation that the promissory notes and mortgages constituted on defendant’s property were “void, simulated, fraudulent, without consideration,” and executed “for the purpose of defeating and deceiving plaintiff’s rights.” Defendant offered the documents in evidence, which were admitted, to establish the two mortgages already mentioned.
In support of his appeal plaintiff relies mainly — as he did at the hearing in the lower court — on the presumption established by § 1249 of the Civil Code, 1930 ed., which insofar as pertinent provides: “Contracts by virtue of which the debtor alienates property, for a good consideration, are presumed to be executed in fraud of creditors.” He also relies in Colón v. Schluter, supra; Heirs of Cayere v. Monell, 40 P.R.R. 899 and Santini Fertilizer Co. v. Burgos et al., 34 P.R.R. 830. And he argues that being the mortgages in question vitiated by nullity by the presumption established in said §1249, and since defendant failed to introduce any evidence to destroy said presumption, he allowed said presumption to stand plaintiff not being bound to support, with evidence, his allegation of fraud.
Appellant herein, who was the one to allege that the promissory notes and mortgages were simulated, fraudulent, and void, had the onus probandi. It was incumbent on him to show that said notes were simulated and fraudulent, and that, consequently, the mortgages lacked the legal force for want of consideration and because they were executed in fraud of creditors.
In the case at bar plaintiff relied on the presumption provided by § 1249 of the Civil Code. But as the mortgages were constituted to secure the negotiable promissory notes and these had the legal presumption of being valid and of having been executed for a valuable consideration, said presumption — which attaches to principal obligations — prevails as such over the presumption stated in § 1249 of the Civil Code, which has no bearing herein, for the valuable consideration is represented by the promissory notes. In the absence of evidence that there was actually no payment of price or of a valuable consideration, the presumption of validity attaching to principal obligations likewise rendered valid the subsidiary obligations — the mortgages.
The first error, therefore, was not committed, and it goes without saying that neither was the second.
The order appealed from will be affirmed.
Said Section provides:
“No mortgagor or personal property shall sell, pledge or otherwise dispose of or encumber property mortgaged by him, or any part thereof, without the written consent of the mortgagee. But such property, may be attached after depositing in the office of the secretary of the court taking cognizance in the case the amount of the obligation secured by mortgage; Provided, That the mortgaged property shall not be removed from the municipality where it is located, prior to the deposit of said amount, except as provided in section 9 of this Act.”
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.