Esther de Jesús v. Castellar Costas
Esther de Jesús v. Castellar Costas
Opinion of the Court
delivered the opinion of the Court.
The defendant in above-entitled case appealed from a judgment which ordered him to pay an allowance for support of $50 a month to his daughter, Áurea Esther de Jesús, plus $200 for attorney’s fees.
A simple mathematical computation shows that there are less than 300 days from the date plaintiff’s mother became pregnant to the date of the birth. The exact date of the last coitus is not indispensable to establish the paternity. See Díaz v. Hernández, 75 P.R.R. 483, 491.
As to the reasonableness of the allowance fixed in the judgment appealed from, it suffices to say that there was evidence that the defendant (1) has a monthly income of over $1,000; (2) he owns two pieces of real property in Yauco; (3) he owns two motor vehicles; (4) he is a member of the
There is, therefore, sufficient evidence in the record to support the judgment rendered by the lower court and we will not disturb the same on appeal. Palmer v. Barreras, 73 P.R.R. 266; Sierra, Commissioner v. Morales, 72 P.R.R. 647; Santos v. Berdecía, 73 P.R.R. 713; Varela v. Fuentes, 70 P.R.R. 838; Rule 52 of the Rules of Civil Procedure.
In the discussion of the second error the appellant argues that the “amended judgment” (second judgment), giving retroactive effect to the payment of the allowance for support as of the filing date of the complaint, is void because it was entered subsequent to the filing of the notice of appeal. The appellee maintains, on the contrary, that the said judgment is valid alleging that the appeal was taken after the parties filed separate motions for reconsideration of the judgment.
In judgments rendered in actions for support such a provision is imperative.
Lastly, we will say that, even though the paternity is established for the first time in the judgment for support proper, the support shall begin, according to § 147 of the Civil Code, as of the filing date of the complaint. We now ratify the per curiam decision in Irlanda v. Carro, judgment of March 11, 1954.
For the reasons stated, the judgment appealed from will be affirmed.
The original judgment was rendered on August 9, 1956, and did not provide for the payment of allowance for support as of the filing
The motions for reconsideration were not included in the judgment roll, but the appellee attached to her brief certified copies thereof.
That section provides:
“$ 566. Beginning of obligation; time of payment
“The obligation to support may be claimed from the time the person having a right thereto shall require such support; but it shall not begin until the date on which a petition therefor is made.
“Payments for support shall be made monthly, in advance, and when the person receiving the same dies, his heirs shall not be required to return any sum that may have been paid in advance. — Civil Code,. 1930, $147.”
See Judgment of June 21, 1935, of the Supreme Court of Spain, in which it is held that a judgment which orders the person obliged to give support to the recipient without specifying the date on which such payment must commence but merely “orders such person to comply thereafter with such obligation by receiving and supporting the recipient in his home,” is erroneous since it fails to make any pronouncement as to the support corresponding to the period from the date of the petition to the date of the judgment.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.