Suárez Martínez v. Superior Court of Puerto Rico
Suárez Martínez v. Superior Court of Puerto Rico
Opinion of the Court
delivered the opinion of the Court.
On January 3, 1961 Andrea Miranda brought an action of divorce against José Suárez Martínez on the ground of adultery. In the complaint she specified the properties belonging to the community partnership, among which she included the sum of $4,573.92 which was deposited in a savings account in the Banco Popular de Puerto Rico. On
After several incidents which we need not relate here, on July 18 the defendant challenged the order of January 5 the purpose of which was to freeze the savings, alleging that it “is erroneous and contrary to law.” This motion was denied and we issued a writ of certiorari to review the order issued.
The petitioner maintains that 'the order challenged is not comprised within any of the provisional measures to which a suit for divorce may give occasion — § § 98 to 101 of the Civil Code, 31 L.P.R.A. § § 341 to 344; and that it is void because it was issued without giving notice thereof and with
Chapter II, Title IV, Book First of the Civil Code deals with the provisional measures to which a suit for divorce may give’ rise, and refers specifically to the provisional custody and care of the minor children, § 98, 31 L.P.R.A. § 341; the designation of a domicile for the wife when she is suing for divorce, § 99, 31 L.P.R.A. § 342; and the fixing of an allowance for support including litis expen-sas, % 100, 31 L.P.R.A. § 343. It is further provided that from the day the judicial action is brought no debt contracted by either spouse on account of the community property shall he valid unless it is authorized by the court, § 101, 31 L.P.R.A. § 344. These provisions were patterned after § § 146, 147,
According to our holding in Alameda v. Registrar, 76 P.R.R. 216, 225 (1954), construing the provisions of § 101 of the Civil Code, “when a debt is contracted by the husband or wife, from the day the suit is filed until the day the divorce decree is final, the spouse contracting it shall be solely liable therefor, unless expressly authorized by the court where the divorce suit is being heard, and the conjugal partnership, as such, shall not be liable to any creditor for the debts contracted by either of the spouses while divorce is pending.” This is as to the effect of the institution of the action of divorce respecting the creditors. However, with respect to the spouses between themselves, there is nothing to prevent either of them from attempting to protect his or her interests in the community property in order to avoid that the other may squander them or dispose at his or her pleasure of some item of the assets, irrespective of whether such act may be taken into consideration upon subsequent liquidation and charged to him the amount of value thereof.
However, for the purposes of deciding this case it may be conceded that the order of freeze challenged is not justified as one of the provisional measures referred to in the Civil Code in the event an action of divorce is begun. Yet, the existence of these provisions does not detract from the virtuality of Rule 56 of the Rules of Civil Procedure, dealing with provisional remedies. It is significant that in stating the general principles on the mattefc, Rule 56.1 provided that “in every action . . . the court may make such temporary order as may be necessary to secure the effectiveness of the judgment,” and that the norm established for determining its propriety is that the measure be “advisable,” considering the interests of all the parties. In this sense
On the other hand, notwithstanding the taxative civil provisions on provisional measures which may be adopted, we have sanctioned the appointment of a receiver to take possession of the properties belonging to the conjugal partnership at any stage of an action of divorce and while it is being prosecuted. López v. District Court of Guayama, 31 P.R.R. 130 (1922). We fail to see how it may be maintained that an order of more limited effects, since it does not comprise all the properties of the conjugal partnership but having the same purpose of preserving the property, is contrary to law.
We have not overlooked the fact that Rule 56.1 refers to the adoption of measures necessary “to secure the effective
The order issued in this case partakes of the nature of a prohibition to alienate which may be issued ex parte without holding a hearing. Rule 56.4. But even if such requirement were necessary, it may be maintained that it was substantially met in this case since the order issued gave the defendant an opportunity to appear within a reasonable period to raise objections. Certainly, the freezing of the funds did not prejudice the defendant at all since the measure was aimed simply at their conservation.
For the reasons stated, the writ issued will be quashed and the order entered by the Superior Court, Bayamón Part, on January 5, 1961 will be affirmed.
The petition for certiorari also prayed for review of an order issued on April 14, 1961 to the Banco Popular de Puerto Rico to issue a check for $150 out of the savings account to pay the sum allowed for attorney’s fees by plaintiff, in pursuance of the judgment by default sustaining the , complaint. However, an examination of the record reveals that although
On July 28 the plaintiff moved for an allowance for support and a reasonable sum for litis expensas, and after proper hearing the court allowed the sum of $150 for the latter item, “which were paid by virtue of an order of this Court of May 16, 1961.”
For the reasons stated, the review of the order of April 14 has become academic.
The measure in connection with the designation of domicile was repealed in Louisiana in 1928.
The same purposes were accomplished, as respects the wife’s property, under the fifth rule of § 68 of the Spanish Civil Code as it stood until April 24, 1958, which in its pertinent part provided that, after the
As of the aforesaid date specific rules were incorporated in $ 68 for the administration .of the conjugal property in litigation and, among other things, the judge is authorized, under the circumstances of the case, to confer exceptionally to the wife the administration of the community property or of any of them, and expressly provides that “judicial authorization shall be required for those acts which exceed the mere administration of the community property, regardless of the spouse who administers the same.” Medina y MaraÑón, 1 Leyes Civiles de Es-paña, 50.
The absence of any prejudice to the defendant is corroborated by the lapse of time between the date of notice of the order of freeze and the filing of the motion challenging the same. We suspect that if he had not been summoned and punished for contempt for failure to pay the allowance for support this incident would not have occurred.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.