The legal battle of businesswoman Edna Camcam, the long-time partner of the late Gen. Fabian Ver, to regain ownership of a Forbes Park mansion continues after the Supreme Court set aside the ruling rendered by the Court of Appeals, which declared a certain Dr. Daniel Vasquez as the real owner of the property.
In a nine-page decision, the SC’s Third Division through Associate Justice Henri Jean Paul Inting granted the petition filed by Camcam seeking the reversal of the CA’ decision on January 26, 2016 and resolution dated September 16, 2016 that denied her appeal.
The CA decision affirmed the resolutions issued by the Regional Trial Court of Makati City on December 16, 2013 and April 7, 2014 rejecting Camcam’s ownership claim over the mansion.
The trial court granted Vasquez’s motion for summary judgment and declared the latter as the real owner of the property on Cambridge Circle.
In ruling in favor of Camcam, the high court noted that the appellate court’s decision was already affirmed by the Court on August 24, 2016 and has attained finality.
“The Rules on Civil Procedure provide that the amended complaint supersedes the complaint. Thus, the grant of the Motion for Summary Judgment, and even the Motion for Summary Judgment itself, have no leg to stand on, as they were both based on the superseded complaint,” the SC ruled.
With this, the high tribunal reversed and set aside the CA ruling and ordered the case to be remanded to the RTC to conduct further proceedings based on Camcam’s amended complaint.
Court records showed that Vasquez claimed he allowed Camcam to occupy the property rent-free upon the request of Ver who went on exile following the ouster of then President Marcos in 1986.
The trial court noted that in September 1994, Camcam executed a legal document titled “Guaranty” admitting Vasquez as the owner of the property.
It said the petitioner also acknowledged and confirmed this document during the trial.
Camcam was forced to claim ownership of the property by filing a for reconveyance with application for preliminary injunction and/or temporary restraining order before the RTC of Makati City.
Camcam filed the complaint after the Vasquez camp filed an ejectment case against her following her refusal to leave the property.
After getting an unfavorable ruling before the Makati City RTC, Camcam appealed before the CA where she asserted that the disposition of the case was premature considering that her camp was still seeking an amendment of her complaint and that there were genuine issues in the case necessitating a full-blown trial.