LAND TITLE AND DEEDS original registration proceedings by filing a petition in the Court
FINALS of First Instance of the place where the land is situated, stating
IV. CADASTRAL REGISTRATION
CADASTRAL REGISTRATION PROCEEDINGS
A. ORDER FOR SPEEDY SETTLEMENT AND ADJUDICATION;
SURVEY; NOTICES
Section 35. Cadastral Survey preparatory to filing of petition.
• When in the opinion of the President public interest so requires
that title to any unregistered lands be settled and adjudicated,
he may direct and order the Director of Lands to cause a
cadastral survey of the lands involved and the plans and
technical description thereof prepared.
• Thereupon, the Director of Lands shall give notice to persons
claiming any interest in the lands as well as to the general public,
of the day on which such survey will begin, giving as fully and
accurately as possible the description of the lands to be
surveyed.
o Such notice shall be published once in the Official Gazette.
o A copy of the notice in English or the national language shall
be posted in a conspicuous place on the bulletin board of the
municipal building of the municipality in which the lands or any
portion thereof is situated.
▪ A copy shall also be sent to the mayor of such municipality
as well as to the barangay captain and likewise to the
Sangguniang Panlalawigan and the Sangguniang Bayan
concerned.
• The Geodetic Engineers or other employees of the Bureau of
Lands in charge of the survey shall give notice reasonably in
advance of the date on which the survey of any portion of such
lands is to begin, which notice shall be posted in the bulletin
board of the municipal building of the municipality or barrio in
which the lands are situated, and shall mark the boundaries of
the lands by monuments set up in proper places thereon.
o They may enter the lands whenever necessary for the
purposes of such survey or the placing of monuments.
• It shall be the duty of every person claiming an interest in the
lands to be surveyed, or in any parcel thereof, to communicate
with the Geodetic Engineer upon his request therefor all
information possessed by such person concerning the boundary
lines of any lands to which he claims title or in which he claims
any interest.
• Any person who shall willfully obstruct the making of any survey
shall be punished by a fine of not more than Php 1000 or by
imprisonment for not more than 1 year, or both.
B. PETITION; LOT NUMBERS
Section 36. Petition for registration.
• When the lands have been surveyed or plotted, the Director of
Lands, represented by the Solicitor General, shall institute
in substance that public interest requires that the title to such
lands be settled and adjudicated and praying that such titles be
so settled and adjudicated:
o The petition shall contain a description of the lands and shall
be accompanied by a plan and may contain such other data to
furnish full notice to all persons who may claim any right or
interest therein.
o Where the land consists of two or more parcels held or
occupied by different persons, the plan shall indicate the
boundaries or limits of the various parcels.
▪ The parcels shall be known as “lots” and shall be given
separate numbers by the Director of Lands, which numbers
shall be known as “cadastral lot numbers”.
▪ The lots situated within each municipality shall be numbered
consecutively beginning with number “one”, and only one
series of numbers shall be used for that purpose in each
municipality.
• However, in cities or townsites, a designation of the
landholdings by blocks and lot numbers may be employed
instead of the designation by cadastral lot numbers.
o The cadastral number of a lot shall not be changed after final
decision has been entered decreeing the registration thereof,
except by order of court.
▪ Future subdivisions of any lot shall be designated by a letter
or letters of the alphabet added to the cadastral number of
the lot to which the respective subdivisions pertain.
▪ The letter with which a subdivision is designated shall be
known as its cadastral letter
• Provided that the subdivisions of cities or townsites may
be designated by blocks and lot numbers.
Lecture
Publishing, posting, and notice requirements are the same as the
one in PD 1529.
C. ANSWER
Section 37. Answer to petition in cadastral proceedings.
• Any claimant shall file an answer on or before the date of initial
hearing or within such further time as may be allowed by the
court.
• The answer shall be signed and sworn to and shall state whether
the claimant is married or unmarried, and if married, the name
of the spouse and the date of marriage, his nationality, residence
and postal address, and shall also contain:
o The age of the claimant;
o The cadastral number of the lot or lots claimed, as appearing
on the plan filed in the case by the Director of Lands, or the
block and lot numbers, as the case may be;
o The name of the barrio and municipality in which the lots are
situated;
o The names and addresses of the owners of the adjoining lots
so far as known to the claimant;
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 o If the claimant is in possession of the lots claimed and can show
no express grant of the land by the government to him or to
his predecessors-in-interest, the answer shall state the length
of time he has held such possession and the manner in which
it has been acquired, and shall also state the length of time, as
far as known, during which the predecessors, if any, held
possession;
o (f) If the claimant is not in possession or occupation of the land,
the answer shall fully set forth the interest claimed by him and
the time and manner of his acquisition;
o (g) if the lots have been assessed for taxation, their last
assessed value; and
o (h) The encumbrances, if any, affecting the lots and the names
of adverse claimants, as far as known.
Director of Lands vs. CA
The Director of Lands did not interpose any objection nor set up the
defense of res adjudicata with respect to the lots in question. Such
failure is a procedural infirmity which cannot be cured on appeal.
Navarro vs. Director of Lands
The requisites of res judicata are:
• The former judgment must be final;
• It must have been rendered by a court having jurisdiction of the
subject matter and the parties;
• It must be a judgment on the merits; and
• There must be, between the first and second actions,
o identity of parties
o identity of subject matter
o identity of cause of action.
D. HEARING; JUDGMENT; DECREE
Section 38. Hearing, Judgment, Decree.
• The trial of the case may occur at any convenient place within
the province in which the lands are situated and shall be
conducted, and orders for default and confessions entered, in
the same manner as in ordinary land registration proceedings
and shall be governed by the same rules.
• All conflicting interests shall be adjudicated by the court and
decrees awarded in favor of the persons entitled to the lands or
to parts thereof and such decrees shall be the basis for issuance
of original certificates of title in favor of said persons and shall
have the same effect as certificates of title granted on
application for registration of land under ordinary land
registration proceedings.
Republic vs. Vera
A cadastral proceeding is one in rem and binds the whole world.
Under this doctrine, parties are precluded from re-litigating the same
issues already determined by final judgment.
Pamintuan vs. San Agustin
In a cadastral case, the jurisdiction of the court over lands already
registered is limited to the necessary correction of technical errors in
the description of the lands, provided, such corrections, do not impair
the substantial rights of the registered owner, and that such
jurisdiction cannot operate to deprive a registered owner of his title.
V. PATENTS
Sec. 118. Except in favor of the Government or any of its branches,
units or institutions, or legally constituted banking corporations,
lands acquired under free patent or homestead provisions shall
not be subject to encumbrance or alienation from the date of the
approval of the application and for a term of five years from and
after the date of issuance of the patent or grant nor shall they
become liable to the satisfaction of any debt contracted prior to
the expiration of said period.
o The improvements or crops on the land may be mortgaged or
pledged to qualified persons, associations, or corporations.
• No alienation, transfer, or conveyance of any homestead after
five years and before twenty-five years after issuance of title
shall be valid without the approval of the Secretary of
Agriculture and Natural Resources, which approval shall not be
denied except on constitutional and legal grounds.
Sec. 122. No land originally acquired in any manner under the
provisions of this Act, nor any permanent improvement on such
land, shall be encumbered, alienated or transferred, except to
persons, corporations, associations, or partnerships who may
acquire lands of the public domain under this Act or to
corporations organized in the Philippines authorized therefor by
their charters.
• Except in cases of hereditary succession, no land or any portion
thereof originally acquired under the free patent, homestead, or
individual sale provisions of this Act, or any permanent
improvement on such land, shall be transferred or assigned to
any individual, nor shall such land or any permanent
improvement thereon be leased to such individual, when the
area of said land, added to that of his own, shall exceed one
hundred and forty-four hectares.
• Any transfer, assignment, or lease made in violation hereto shall
be null and void.
FREE PATENT
Sec. 44. Any natural-born citizen of the Philippines who is not the
owner of more than 24 hectares, and who since July 4, 1945 or
prior thereto, has continuously occupied and cultivated, either by
himself or through his predecessors-in-interest, a tract or tracts of
agricultural public lands subject to disposition, or who shall have
paid the real estate tax thereon while the same has not been
occupied by any other person shall be entitled, under the
provisions of this chapter, to have a free patent issued to him for
such tract or tracts of such land not to exceed 24 hectares.
• A member of the national cultural minorities who has
continuously occupied and cultivated, either by himself or
through his predecessors-interest, a tract or tracts of land,
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 whether disposable or not since July 4, 1955, shall be entitled to
the right granted in the preceding paragraph of this section.
o Provided, That at the time he files his free patent application
he is not the owner of any real property secured or disposable
under this provision of the Public Land Law.
Lecture
Land area should not exceed 12 hectares because the IRR of RA
10023.
OCENCO 10 years prior to the application.
HOMESTEAD PATENT
CA 141
Sec. 12. Any citizen of the Philippines over the age of eighteen
years, or the head of a family, who does not own more than 24
hectares of land in the Philippines or has not had the benefit of any
gratuitous allotment of more than 24 hectares of land since the
occupation of the Philippines by the United States, may enter a
homestead of not exceeding 24 hectares of agricultural land of the
public domain.
Sec. 14. No certificate shall be given, or patent issued for the land
applied for until at least one-fifth of the land has been improved
and cultivated.
• The period within which the land shall be cultivated shall not be
less than 1 nor more than 5 years from and after the date of the
approval of the application. The applicant shall, within the said
period, notify the Director of Lands as soon as he is ready to
acquire the title.
• If at the date of such notice, the applicant shall prove to the
satisfaction of the Director of Lands, that he has resided
continuously for at least one year in the municipality in which
the land is located, or in a municipality adjacent to the same, and
has cultivated at least one-fifth of the land continuously since
the approval of the application, and shall make affidavit that no
part of said land has been alienated or encumbered, and that he
has complied with all the requirements of this Act, then upon
the payment of five pesos, as final fee, he shall be entitled to a
patent.
SALES PATENT
CA 141
Sec. 22. Any citizen of lawful age of the Philippines, and any such
citizen not of lawful age who is a head of a family, and any
corporation or association of which at least sixty per centum of the
capital stock or of any interest in said capital stock belongs wholly
to citizens of the Philippines. and which is organized and
constituted under the laws of the Philippines, and corporate
bodies organized in the Philippines authorized under their charters
to do so, may purchase any tract of public agricultural land
disposable under this Act, not to exceed one hundred and forty-
four hectares in the case of an individual and one thousand and
twenty-four hectares in that of a corporation or association, by
proceedings as prescribed in this chapter: Provided, That
partnership shall be entitled to purchase not to exceed one
hundred and fortyfour hectares for each member thereof, but the
total area so purchased shall in no case exceed the one thousand
and twenty-four hectares authorized in this section for
associations and corporations.
VI. DECREE OF REGISTRATION
AND CERTIFICATE OF TITLE
Del Prado vs. Caballero
Where both the area and the boundaries of the immovable are
declared, the area covered within the boundaries of the immovable
prevails over the stated area. In cases of conflict between areas and
boundaries, it is the latter which should prevail.
What really defines a piece of ground is not the area, calculated with
more or less certainty, mentioned in its description, but the
boundaries therein laid down, as enclosing the land and indicating its
limits.
DBT vs. Panes
While the Torrens system is not a mode of acquiring title, but merely
a system of registration of titles to lands, justice and equity demand
that the titleholder should not be made to bear the unfavorable effect
of the mistake or negligence of the State's agents, in the absence of
proof of his complicity in a fraud or of manifest damage to third
persons.
The real purpose of the Torrens system is to quiet title to land and put
a stop forever to any question as to the legality of the title, except
claims that were noted in the certificate at the time of the registration
or that may arise subsequent thereto. Otherwise, the integrity of the
Torrens system would forever be sullied by the ineptitude and
inefficiency of land registration officials, who are ordinarily presumed
to have regularly performed their duties.
Thus, where innocent third persons, relying on the correctness of the
certificate of title thus issued, acquire rights over the property, the
court cannot disregard those rights and order the cancellation of the
certificate. The effect of such outright cancellation will be to impair
public confidence in the certificate of title. The sanctity of the Torrens
system must be preserved; otherwise, everyone dealing with the
property registered under the system will have to inquire in every
instance on whether the title had been regularly or irregularly issued,
contrary to the evident purpose of the law.
Ibid. (Mirror Doctrine)
Every person dealing with the registered land may safely rely on the
correctness of the certificate of title issued therefor, and the law will
in no way oblige him to go behind the certificate to determine the
condition of the property.
Lecture
XPN: Banks and those engaged in real estate businesses.
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Lonoy vs. Secretary of Agrarian Reform
Certificates of title issued in administrative proceedings are as
indefeasible as certificates of title issued in judicial proceedings.
Ybanez vs. IAC
The settled rule is that a decree of registration and the certificate of
title issued pursuant thereto may be attacked on the ground of actual
fraud within 1 year from the date of its entry and such an attack must
be direct and not by a collateral proceeding. The validity of the
certificate of title in this regard can be threshed out only in an action
expressly filed for the purpose.
The date of issuance of the patent corresponds to the date of the
issuance of the decree in ordinary registration cases because the
decree finally awards the land applied for registration to the party
entitled to it, and the patent issued by the Director of Lands equally
and finally grants, awards, and conveys the land applied for to the
applicant.
Guaranteed Homes vs. Valdez
Since "the act of registration is the operative act to convey or affect
the land insofar as third persons are concerned", it follows that where
there is nothing in the certificate of title to indicate any cloud or vice
in the ownership of the property, or any encumbrance thereon, the
purchaser is not required to explore farther than what the Torrens
title upon its face indicates in quest for any hidden defect or inchoate
right that may subsequently defeat his right thereto.
Heirs of Panganiban vs. Dayrit
Even a registered owner of property may be barred from recovering
possession of property by virtue of laches. Elements:
• Conduct on the part of the defendant, or of one under whom he
claims, giving rise to the situation of which complaint is made for
which the complaint seeks a remedy;
• Delay in asserting the complainant's rights, the complainant having
had knowledge or notice, of the defendant's conduct and having
been afforded an opportunity to institute a suit;
• Lack of knowledge or notice on the part of the defendant that the
complainant would assert the right on which he bases his suit; and
• Injury or prejudice to the defendant in the event relief is accorded
to the complainant, or the suit is not held to be barred.
the claimant, who has no rights to said immovable, respect and not
disturb the one so entitled, but also for the benefit of both, so that
whoever has the right will see every cloud of doubt over the property
dissipated.
Lim was asserting only that the existing title registered in the name of
the petitioners' predecessors had become inoperative due to the
conveyance in favor of Lim's mother, and resultantly should be
cancelled. Lim did not thereby assail the validity of the OCT.
Radiowealth vs. Palileo
Article 1544 of the Civil Code provides that in case of double sale of
an immovable property, ownership shall be transferred:
(1) to the person acquiring it who in good faith first recorded it in
the Registry of Property;
(2) in default thereof, to the person who in good faith was first in
possession; and
(3) in default thereof, to the person who presents the oldest title,
provided there is good faith.
However, it must be stressed that this case deals with a parcel of
unregistered land and a different set of rules applies.
Under Act No. 3344, registration of instruments affecting
unregistered lands is "without prejudice to a third party with a better
right". The quoted phrase has been held by this Court to mean that
the mere registration of a sale in one's favor does not give him any
right over the land if the vendor was not anymore, the owner of the
land having previously sold the same to somebody else even if the
earlier sale was unrecorded.

Araneta vs. RTC of Kalookan City

An action or proceeding is deemed an attack on a title when the
object of the action is to nullify the title, and thus challenge the
judgment pursuant to which the title was decreed.
The attack is direct when the object of the action is to annul or set
aside such judgment or enjoin its enforcement. On the other hand, it
is indirect or collateral when, in an action or proceeding to obtain a
different relief, an attack on the judgment is nevertheless made as an
incident thereof.

Ono vs. Lim

In an action for quieting of title, the competent court is tasked to
determine the respective rights of the complainant and the other
claimants, not only to place things in their proper places, and to make
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 SUBSEQUENT REGISTRATION
VOLUNTARY DEALINGS
TRANSFER OF OWNERSHIP
Lecture
Examples: Sales and donations.
Section 51. Conveyance and other dealings by registered owner.
• An owner of registered land may convey, mortgage, lease,
charge or otherwise deal with the same in accordance with
existing laws.
• He may use such forms of deeds, mortgages, leases or other
voluntary instruments as are sufficient in law.
• But no deed, mortgage, lease, or other voluntary instrument,
except a will purporting to convey or affect registered land shall
take effect as a conveyance or bind the land, but shall operate
only as a contract between the parties and as evidence of
authority to the Register of Deeds to make registration.
• The act of registration shall be the operative act to convey or
affect the land insofar as third persons are concerned, and in all
cases under this Decree, the registration shall be made in the
office of the Register of Deeds for the province or city where the
land lies.
Heirs of Bernabe vs. CA
In a contract of sale, the vendor loses ownership over the property
and cannot recover it until and unless the contract is resolved or
rescinded; whereas in a contract to sell, title is retained by the vendor
until full payment of the price. In the latter contract, payment of the
price is a positive suspensive condition, failure of which is not a breach
but an event that prevents the obligation of the vendor to convey title
from becoming effective.
Section 52. Constructive notice upon registration.
• Every conveyance, mortgage, lease, lien, attachment, order,
judgment, instrument or entry affecting registered land shall, if
registered, filed or entered in the office of the Register of Deeds
for the province or city where the land to which it relates lies, be
constructive notice to all persons from the time of such
registering, filing or entering.
Section 53. Presentation of owner's duplicate upon entry of new
certificate.
• No voluntary instrument shall be registered by the Register of
Deeds, unless the owner's duplicate certificate is presented with
such instrument, except in cases expressly provided for in this
Decree or upon order of the court, for cause shown.
• The production of the owner's duplicate certificate, whenever
any voluntary instrument is presented for registration, shall be
conclusive authority from the registered owner to the Register
of Deeds to enter a new certificate or to make a memorandum
of registration in accordance with such instrument, and the new
certificate or memorandum shall be binding upon the registered
owner and upon all persons claiming under him, in favor of every
purchaser for value and in good faith.
• In all cases of registration procured by fraud, the owner may
pursue all his legal and equitable remedies against the parties to
such fraud without prejudice, however, to the rights of any
innocent holder for value of a certificate of title.
• After the entry of the decree of registration on the original
petition or application, any subsequent registration procured by
the presentation of a forged duplicate certificate of title, or a
forged deed or other instrument, shall be null and void.
Leviste vs. Noblejas
Where the owner refuses to surrender the duplicate certificate for the
annotation of the voluntary instrument, the grantee may file with the
Register of Deeds a statement setting forth his adverse claim, as
provided for in Section 110 of Act 496.
In such a case, the annotation of the instrument upon the entry book
is sufficient to affect the real estate to which it relates, although
Section 72 of Act 496 imposes upon the Register of Deeds the duty to
require the production by the registered owner of his duplicate
certificate for the inscription of the adverse claim.
TRANSFER LESS THAN OWNERSHIP
Section 54. Dealings less than ownership, how registered.
• No new certificate shall be entered or issued pursuant to any
instrument which does not divest the ownership or title from
the owner or from the transferee of the registered owners.
• All interests in registered land less than ownership shall be
registered by filing with the Register of Deeds the instrument
which creates or transfers or claims such interests and by a brief
memorandum thereof made by the Register of Deeds upon the
certificate of title, and signed by him.
• A similar memorandum shall also be made on the owner's
duplicate.
• The cancellation or extinguishment of such interests shall be
registered in the same manner.
Lecture
Example: Mortgage
ARTICLE 2085. The following requisites are essential to the
contracts of pledge and mortgage:
(1) That they be constituted to secure the fulfillment of a principal
obligation;
(2) That the pledgor or mortgagor be the absolute owner of the
thing pledged or mortgaged;
(3) That the persons constituting the pledge or mortgage have the
free disposal of their property, and in the absence thereof, that
they be legally authorized for the purpose.
Lecture
Ma’am added “demand” as the 4th requisite.
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Maglaque vs. Planters Development Bank
The rule is that a secured creditor holding a real estate mortgage has
three (3) options in case of death of the debtor. These are:
(1) to waive the mortgage and claim the entire debt from the estate
of the mortgagor as an ordinary claim;
(2) to foreclose the mortgage judicially and prove any deficiency as
an ordinary claim; and
(3) to rely on the mortgage exclusively, foreclosing the same at
anytime before it is barred by prescription, without right to file a
claim for any deficiency.
Llanto vs. Alzona
Under Article 2085 of the Civil Code, one of the essential requisites of
the contract of mortgage is that the mortgagor should be the absolute
owner of the property to be mortgaged; otherwise, the mortgage is
considered null and void.
However, an exception to this rule is the doctrine of "mortgagee in
good faith." Under this doctrine, even if the mortgagor is not the
owner of the mortgaged property, the mortgage contract and any
foreclosure sale arising therefrom are given effect by reason of public
policy.
This principle is based on the rule that all persons dealing with
property covered by a Torrens Certificate of Title, as buyers or
mortgagees, are not required to go beyond what appears on the face
of the title.
ACT 3135. EXTRAJUDICIAL FORECLOSURE
• There must be an SPA authorizing the mortgagee to initiate an
extrajudicial foreclosure proceeding.
o This complies with the prohibition on pactum commissorium-
automatic appropriation by the creditor of the thing mortgaged
upon default of the debtor.
• Said SPA shall be presented to the Executive Judge of the RTC where
the property is located.
• The EJ shall then direct the Clerk of Court to post in 3 conspicuous
places and publish in a newspaper of general circulation, details of
the public auction.
• The public auction shall be held from 9am to 4pm.
• Certificate of sale shall be issued to the highest bidder.
• The mortgagor shall have the right of redemption for a period of
one year from the issuance of the certificate of sale or until before
the certificate of sale is registered.
• The certificate of sale shall thereafter be registered. The Register of
Deeds shall cancel the old CT and issue a new one.
Nagtalon vs. UCPB
Once title to the property has been consolidated in the buyer's name
upon failure of the mortgagor to redeem the property within the one-
year redemption period, the writ of possession becomes a matter of
right belonging to the buyer.
Its right to possession has then ripened into the right of a confirmed
absolute owner and the issuance of the writ becomes a ministerial
function that does not admit of the exercise of the court's discretion.
Ibid. (Exceptions)
(1) Gross inadequacy of purchase price.
(2) Third party claiming right adverse to debtor/mortgagor.
(3) Failure to pay the surplus proceeds of the sale to mortgagor.
RULE 68. JUDICIAL FORECLOSURE
• A complaint shall be filed in the RTC.
• If judgment is rendered ordering the mortgagor to pay, he shall
have 90-120 to extinguish the outstanding obligation.
o Equity of redemption
• Should the mortgagor fail to pay, the securities shall be subject to
sale in a public auction.
• A confirmation of sale shall be issued to the highest bidder and the
same shall be registered.
o Appeal is the remedy in challenging an order confirming the sale.
• The Register of Deeds shall cancel the old CT and issue a new one.
INVOLUNTARY DEALINGS
Section 69. Attachments.
• An attachment, or a copy of any writ, order or process issued by
a court of record, intended to create or preserve any lien, status,
right, or attachment upon registered land, shall be filed and
registered in the Registry of Deeds for the province or city in
which the land lies, and, in addition to the particulars required
in such papers for registration, shall contain a reference to the
number of the certificate of title to be affected and the
registered owner or owners thereof, and also if the attachment,
order, process or lien is not claimed on all the land in any
certificate of title a description sufficiently accurate for
identification of the land or interest intended to be affected.
• A restraining order, injunction or mandamus issued by the court
shall be entered and registered on the certificate of title
affected, free of charge.
Lecture
Examples: Adverse Claim and Notice of Lis Pendens
Section 71. Surrender of certificate in involuntary dealings.
• If an attachment or other lien in the nature of involuntary
dealing in registered land is registered, and the duplicate
certificate is not presented at the time of registration, the
Register of Deeds shall, within thirty-six hours thereafter, send
notice by mail to the registered owner, stating that such paper
has been registered, and requesting him to send or produce his
duplicate certificate so that a memorandum of the attachment
or other lien may be made thereon.
• If the owner neglects or refuses to comply within a reasonable
time, the Register of Deeds shall report the matter to the court,
and it shall, after notice, enter an order to the owner, to produce
his certificate at a time and place named therein, and may
enforce the order by suitable process.
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 I. RECONSTITUTION OF ORIGINAL CERTIFICATE OF TITLE
Section 110. Reconstitution of lost or destroyed original of Torrens
title.
• Original copies of certificates of title lost or destroyed in the
offices of Register of Deeds as well as liens and encumbrances
affecting the lands covered by such titles shall be reconstituted
judicially in accordance with the procedure prescribed in RA 26
insofar as not inconsistent with this Decree.
• The procedure relative to administrative reconstitution of lost
or destroyed certificate prescribed in said Act is hereby
abrogated (it is now RA 6732).
• Notice of all hearings of the petition for judicial reconstitution
shall be given to the Register of Deeds of the place where the
land is situated and to the Commissioner of Land Registration.
• No order or judgment ordering the reconstitution of a certificate
of title shall become final until the lapse of 30 days from receipt
by the Register of Deeds and by the Commissioner of Land
Registration of a notice of such order or judgment without any
appeal having been filed by any of such officials.
Lecture
General requirements for a reconstitution whether OCT or TCT or
judicial or administrative.
• Prove that a title has been issued.
• The OCT was not cancelled.
• There is no pending litigation concerning the titles.
• Attach the sources.
• Publish, post, and send notices.
Register of Deeds vs. RTC of Malabon
The purpose of the publication of the notice of the petition for
reconstitution in the Official Gazette is to apprise the whole world
that such a petition has been filed and that whoever is minded to
oppose it for good cause may do so within 30 days before the date set
by the court for hearing the petition.
Apart from the defective publication of the petition, another reason
for its dismissal is that the Register of Deeds for Malabon is not the
proper party to file the petition for reconstitution.
A petition for reconstitution may now be filed only by "the registered
owner his assigns, or any person who has an interest in the property"
(Section 12, Republic Act No. 26).
Serra vs. CA
In a land registration case, a writ of possession may be issued only
pursuant to a decree of registration in an original land registration
proceeding not only against the person who has been defeated in a
registration case but also against anyone adversely occupying the
land or any portion thereof during the proceedings up to the issuance
of the decree. It cannot however, be issued in a petition for
reconstitution of an allegedly lost or destroyed certificate of title.
Reconstitution does not confirm or adjudicate ownership over the
property covered by the reconstituted title as in original land
registration proceedings where, in the latter, a writ of possession may
be issued to place the applicant-owner in possession.
The purpose of the reconstitution of any document, book or record is
to have the same reproduced, after observing the procedure
prescribed by law in the same form they were when the loss or
destruction occurred.
A person who seeks a reconstitution of a certificate of title over a
property he does not actually possess cannot, by a mere motion for
the issuance of a writ of possession, which is summary in nature,
deprive the actual occupants of possession thereof.
Possession and/or ownership of the property should be threshed out
in a separate proceeding.
RA 26. JUDICIAL RECONSTITUION
SEC. 2. Original certificates of title shall be reconstituted from such
of the sources hereunder enumerated as may be available in the
following order:
(a) The owner's duplicate of the certificate of title;
(b) The co-owners’, mortgagee's, or lessee's duplicate of the
certificate of title;
(c) A certified copy of the certificate of title, previously issued by
the register of deeds or by a legal custodian thereof;
(d) An authenticated copy of the decree of registration or
patent, as the case may be, pursuant to which the original
certificate of title was issued;
(e) A document, on file in the Registry of Deeds by which the
property, the description of which is given in said document, is
mortgaged, leased or encumbered, or an authenticated copy of
said document showing that its original has been registered; and
(f) Any other document which, in the judgment of the court, is
sufficient and proper basis for reconstituting the lost or
destroyed certificate of title.
Section 12. Petitions for reconstitution from sources enumerated
in sections 2(c), 2(d), 2(e), 2(f), 3(c), 3(d), 3(e) and/or 3(f) of this
Act, shall be filed with the proper Court of First Instance, by the
registered owner, his assigns, or any person having an interest in
the property.
• The petition shall state or contain, among other things, the
following:
o (a) that the owner's duplicate of the certificate of title had
been lost or destroyed;
o (b) that no co-owner's mortgagee's or lessee's duplicate had
been issued, or, if any had been issued, the same had been lost
or destroyed;
o (c) the location, area and boundaries of the property;
o (d) the nature and description of the buildings or
improvements, if any, which do not belong to the owner of the
land, and the names and addresses of the owners of such
buildings or improvements;
o (e) the names and addresses of the occupants or persons in
possession of the property, of the owners of the adjoining
properties and all persons who may have any interest in the
property;
o (f) a detailed description of the encumbrances, if any, affecting
the property; and
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 o (g) a statement that no deeds or other instruments affecting
the property have been presented for registration, or, if there
be any, the registration thereof has not been accomplished, as
yet.
• All the documents, or authenticated copies thereof, to be
introduced in evidence in support of the petition for
reconstitution shall be attached thereto and filed with the same.
o In case the reconstitution is to be made exclusively from
sources enumerated in section 2(f) of 3(f) of this Act, the
petition shall be further be accompanied with a plan and
technical description of the property duly approved by the
Chief of the General Land Registration Office, or with a
certified copy of the description taken from a prior certificate
of title covering the same property.
SEC. 13. The court shall cause a notice of the petition, filed under
the preceding section, to be published, at the expense of the
petitioner, twice in successive issues of the Official Gazette, and to
be posted on the main entrance of the provincial building and of
the municipal building of the municipality or city in which the land
is situated, at least 30 days prior to the date of hearing.
• The court shall likewise cause a copy of the notice to be sent, by
registered mail or otherwise, at the expense of the petitioner, to
every person named therein whose address is known, at least
thirty days prior to the date of hearing.
o Said notice shall state, among other things:
▪ the number of the lost or destroyed certificate of title,
▪ if known, the name of the registered owner, the names of
the occupants or persons in possession of the property,
the owners of the adjoining properties and all other
interested parties,
▪ the location area and boundaries of the property,
▪ and the date on which all persons having any interest
therein must appear and file their claim or objections to
the petition.
• The petitioner shall, at the hearing, submit proof of the
publication, posting and service of the notice as directed by the
court.
Ragua vs. CA
The reconstitution of a title in the context of R.A. 26 denotes the
restoration in the original form and condition of a lost or destroyed
instrument attesting to the title of a person to a piece of land.
Among the conditions explicitly required by law is publication of the
petition twice in successive issues of the Official Gazette. This
directive is mandatory. Its compliance is held to be jurisdictional.
RA 6732. ADMINISTRATIVE RECONSTITUTION
Section 1. Section 110 of Presidential Decree No. 1529 is hereby
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 110. Reconstitution of Lost or Destroyed Original of Torrens
Title.
• Original copies of certificates of titles lost or destroyed in the
offices of Register of Deeds as well as liens and encumbrances
affecting the lands covered by such titles shall be reconstituted
judicially in accordance with the procedure prescribed in
Republic Act No. 26 insofar as not inconsistent with this Decree.
• The procedure relative to administrative reconstitution of lost
or destroyed certificate prescribed in said Act may be availed of
only in case of substantial loss or destruction of land titles due
to fire, flood or other force majeure as determined by the
Administrator of the Land Registration Authority.
o The number of certificates of titles lost or damaged should be
at least 10% of the total number in the possession of the Office
of the Register of Deeds.
▪ In no case shall the number of certificates of titles lost or
damaged be less than 500.
• Notice of all hearings of the petition for judicial reconstitution
shall be furnished the Register of Deeds of the place where the
land is situated and to the Administrator of the Land Registration
Authority.
• No order or judgment ordering the reconstitution of a certificate
of title shall become final until the lapse of 15 days from receipt
by the Register of Deeds and by the Administrator of the Land
Registration Authority of a notice of such order or judgment
without any appeal having been filed by any such officials.
Section 2. For the purpose of the preceding section, Section 5
of Republic Act No. 26 is hereby revived and amended to read as
follows:
Sec. 5. Petitions for reconstitution from sources enumerated in
Sections 2(a), 2(b), 3(a,) and 3(b) of this Act may be filed with the
Register of Deeds concerned by the registered owner, his assigns,
or other person, both natural and juridical, having an interest in
the property.
• The petition shall be accompanied with the necessary sources
for reconstitution and with an affidavit of the registered owner
stating, among other things:
o That no deed or other instrument affecting the property had
been presented for registration, or, if there be any, the nature
thereof, the date of its presentation, as well as the names of
the parties, and whether the registration of such deed or
instrument is still pending accomplishment;
o That the owner's duplicate certificate or co-owner's duplicate
is in due form without any apparent intentional alterations or
erasures;
o That the certificate of title is not the subject of litigation or
investigation, administrative or judicial, regarding its
genuineness or due execution or issuance;
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 o That the certificate of title was in full force and effect at the
time it was lost or destroyed;
o That the certificate of title is covered by a tax declaration
regularly issued by the Assessor's Office; and
o That real estate taxes have been fully paid up to at least 2
years prior to the filing of the petition for reconstitution.
• If the reconstitution is to be made from any of the sources
enumerated in Section 2(b) or 3(b), the affidavit should further
state that the owner's duplicate has been lost or destroyed and
the circumstances under which it was lost or destroyed.
• Thereupon, the Register of Deeds shall, no valid reason to the
contrary existing, reconstitute the certificate of title as provided
in this Act.
Section 7. Section 19 of Republic Act No. 26 is hereby amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 19. If the certificate of title considered lost or destroyed, and
subsequently found or recovered, is not in the name of the same
person in whose favor the reconstituted certificate of title has
been issued, the Register of Deeds or the party concerned should
bring the matter to the attention of the proper regional trial court,
which, after due notice and hearing, shall order the cancellation of
the reconstituted certificate of title and render, with respect to the
memoranda of new liens and encumbrances, if any, made in the
reconstituted certificate of title, after its reconstitution, such
judgment as justice and equity may require.
• If the reconstituted certificate of title has been cancelled by
virtue of any deed or instrument, whether voluntary or
involuntary, or by an order of the court, and a new certificate of
title has been issued, the procedure prescribed above, with
respect to the memorandum of new liens and encumbrances
made on the reconstituted certificate of title, after its
reconstitution, shall be followed with respect to the new
certificate of title, and to such new liens and encumbrances, if
any, as may have been on the latter, after the issuance thereof.
Section 11. A reconstituted title obtained by means of fraud,
deceit or other machination is void ab initio as against the party
obtaining the same and all persons having knowledge thereof.
II. RECONSTITUTION OF OWNER’S DUPLICATE
OF THE CERTIFICATE OF TITLE
Section 109. Notice and replacement of lost duplicate certificate.
• In case of loss or theft of an owner's duplicate certificate of title,
due notice under oath shall be sent by the owner or by someone
in his behalf to the Register of Deeds of the province or city
where the land lies as soon as the loss or theft is discovered.
• If a duplicate certificate is lost or destroyed or cannot be
produced by a person applying for the entry of a new certificate
to him or for the registration of any instrument, a sworn
statement of the fact of such loss or destruction may be filed by
the registered owner or other person in interest and registered.
• Upon the petition of the registered owner or other person in
interest, the court may, after notice and due hearing, direct the
issuance of a new duplicate certificate, which shall contain a
memorandum of the fact that it is issued in place of the lost
duplicate certificate, but shall in all respects be entitled to like
faith and credit as the original duplicate, and shall thereafter be
regarded as such for all purposes of this decree.
New Durawood vs. CA
If a certificate of title has not been lost but is in fact in the possession
of another person, the reconstituted title is void and the court
rendering the decision has not acquired jurisdiction. Consequently,
the decision may be attacked any time.
Private respondents tried to convince the Court that by their failure
to locate Francis Dytiongsee, they had no other recourse but to file a
petition for reconstitution.
Sec. 107 of P.D. 1529, however, states that the remedy, in case of the
refusal or failure of the holder to surrender the owner's duplicate
certificate of title, is a "petition in court to compel surrender of the
same to the Register of Deeds," and not a petition for reconstitution.
III. SURRENDER OF WITHELD CERTIFICATE OF TITLE
Selph vs. Vda de Aguilar
When the register of deeds is requested to enter a new certificate of
title in pursuance of a judgment, and the owner's duplicate certificate
of title is not presented for cancellation, the register of deeds shall
not enter a new certificate but the person claiming to be entitled
thereto may apply by petition to the court which, after hearing, may
order the registered owner or any person withholding the duplicate
to surrender the same, and direct the entry of a new certificate of title
upon such surrender.
Section 107. Surrender of withhold duplicate certificates.
• The party in interest may file a petition in court to compel
surrender of the same to the Register of Deeds:
o Where it is necessary to issue a new certificate of title
pursuant to any involuntary instrument which divests the title
of the registered owner against his consent or
o Where a voluntary instrument cannot be registered by reason
of the refusal or failure of the holder to surrender the owner's
duplicate certificate of title.
• The court, after hearing, may order the registered owner or any
person withholding the duplicate certificate to surrender the
same, and direct the entry of a new certificate or memorandum
upon such surrender.
• If the person withholding the duplicate certificate is not
amenable to the process of the court, or if not any reason the
outstanding owner's duplicate certificate cannot be delivered,
the court may order the annulment of the same as well as the
issuance of a new certificate of title in lieu thereof.
• Such new certificate and all duplicates thereof shall contain a
memorandum of the annulment of the outstanding duplicate.
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Ligon vs. CA
Any lien annotated on the previous certificates of title which subsists
should be incorporated in or carried over to the new transfer
certificates of title. This is true even in the case of a real estate
mortgage because pursuant to Art. 2126 of the Civil Code it directly
and immediately subjects the property upon which it is imposed,
whoever the possessor may be, to the fulfillment of the obligation for
whose security it was constituted.
It is inseparable from the property mortgaged as it is a right in rem —
a lien on the property whoever its owner may be. It subsists
notwithstanding a change in ownership; in short, the personality of
the owner is disregarded.
Thus, all subsequent purchasers must respect the mortgage whether
the transfer to them be with or without the consent of the mortgages,
for such mortgage until discharged follows the property.
It is clear therefore that the surrender by petitioner of the certificates
of title to the Register of Deeds as ordered by the trial court will not
create any substantial injustice to her.
IV. AMENDMENT AND ALTERATION
Section 108. Amendment and alteration of certificates.
• No erasure, alteration, or amendment shall be made upon the
registration book after the entry of a certificate of title or of a
memorandum thereon and the attestation of the same be
Register of Deeds, except by order of the proper Court of First
Instance.
• A registered owner of other person having an interest in
registered property, or, in proper cases, the Register of Deeds
with the approval of the Commissioner of Land Registration,
may apply by petition to the court upon the following grounds:
o that the registered interests of any description, whether
vested, contingent, expectant or inchoate appearing on the
certificate, have terminated and ceased;
o or that new interest not appearing upon the certificate have
arisen or been created;
o or that an omission or error was made in entering a certificate
or any memorandum thereon, or, on any duplicate certificate;
o or that the same or any person on the certificate has been
changed;
o or that the registered owner has married, or, if registered as
married, that the marriage has been terminated and no right
or interests of heirs or creditors will thereby be affected;
o or that a corporation which owned registered land and has
been dissolved has not convened the same within three years
after its dissolution;
o or upon any other reasonable ground.
• The court may hear and determine the petition after notice to
all parties in interest, and may order:
o the entry or cancellation of a new certificate,
o the entry or cancellation of a memorandum upon a certificate,
o or grant any other relief upon such terms and conditions,
requiring security or bond if necessary, as it may consider
proper.
▪ This section shall not be construed to give the court
authority to reopen the judgment or decree of registration,
and that nothing shall be done or ordered by the court which
shall impair the title or other interest of a purchaser holding
a certificate for value and in good faith, or his heirs and
assigns, without his or their written consent.
• Where the owner's duplicate certificate is not presented, a
similar petition may be filed as provided in the preceding section
(petition to surrender withhold duplicate certificates).
• All petitions or motions filed under this Section as well as under
any other provision of this Decree after original registration shall
be filed and entitled in the original case in which the decree or
registration was entered.
Averia vs. Caguioa
With reference to Section 112 of the Land Registration Act (now
Section 108 of P.D. No. 1529), the court is no longer fettered by its
former limited jurisdiction which enabled it to grant relief only in
cases where there was "unanimity among the parties" or none of
them raised any "adverse claim or serious objection."
Under the amended law, the court is now authorized to hear and
decide not only such non-controversial cases but even the
contentious and substantial issues, such as the question at bar
(annotation of a deed of assignment), which were beyond its
competence before.
Del Prado vs. Caballero
The use of "more or less" or similar words in designating quantity
covers only a reasonable excess or deficiency. A vendee of land sold
in gross or with the description "more or less" with reference to its
area does not thereby ipso facto take all risk of quantity in the land.
V. ADVERSE CLAIM
Concepcion vs. Concepcion
The Court of First Instance (now the Regional Trial Court), as a Land
Registration Court, can hear cases otherwise litigable only in ordinary
civil actions, since the Court of First Instance are at the same time,
courts of general jurisdiction and could entertain and dispose of the
validity or invalidity of respondent's adverse claim, with a view to
determining whether petitioner is entitled or not to the relief that he
seeks.
Section 70. Adverse claim.
• Whoever claims any part or interest in registered land adverse
to the registered owner, arising subsequent to the date of the
original registration, may, if no other provision is made in this
Decree for registering the same, make a statement in writing
setting forth fully his alleged right or interest, and how or under
whom acquired, a reference to the number of the certificate of
title of the registered owner, the name of the registered owner,
and a description of the land in which the right or interest is
claimed.
• The statement shall be
o signed and sworn to,
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 o state the adverse claimant's residence, and
o state a place at which all notices may be served upon him.
• This statement shall be entitled to registration as an adverse
claim on the certificate of title.
• The adverse claim shall be effective for a period of thirty days
from the date of registration. After the lapse of said period, the
annotation of adverse claim may be canceled upon filing of a
verified petition therefor by the party in interest.
o After cancellation, no second adverse claim based on the same
ground shall be registered by the same claimant.
• Before the lapse of thirty days aforesaid, any party in interest
may file a petition in the Court of First Instance where the land
is situated for the cancellation of the adverse claim, and the
court shall grant a speedy hearing upon the question of the
validity of such adverse claim and shall render judgment as may
be just and equitable.
o If the adverse claim is adjudged to be invalid, the registration
thereof shall be ordered canceled.
o If the adverse claim thus registered was frivolous, it may fine
the claimant in an amount not less than Php1000 nor more
than Php5000, in its discretion.
• Before the lapse of thirty days, the claimant may withdraw his
adverse claim by filing with the Register of Deeds a sworn
petition to that effect.
Lozano vs. Ballesteros
Formal requisites of an adverse claim
1. the adverse claimant must state the following in writing:
a. his alleged right or interest;
b. how and under whom such alleged right or interest is acquired;
c. the description of the land in which the right or interest is
claimed, and
d. the certificate of title number
2. the statement must be signed and sworn to before a notary public
or other officer authorized to administer oath; and
3. the claimant should state his residence or the place to which all
notices may be served upon him.
Sajonas vs. CA
“The adverse claim shall be effective for a period of thirty days from
the date of registration."
The above provision should be read in relation to the sentence
following: "After the lapse of said period, the annotation of adverse
claim may be cancelled upon filing of a verified petition therefor by
the party in interest."
The law, taken together, means that the cancellation of the adverse
claim is still necessary to render it ineffective. For if the adverse claim
has already ceased to be effective upon the lapse of said period, the
process of cancellation would be a useless ceremony.
The reason is to afford the adverse claimant an opportunity to be
heard, providing a venue where the propriety of his claimed interest
can be established or revoked, all for the purpose of determining at
last the existence of any encumbrance on the title arising from such
adverse claim.
Spouses Ching vs. Spouses Enrile
The law does not require a person dealing with the owner of
registered land to go beyond the certificate of title as he may rely on
the notices of the encumbrances on the property annotated on the
certificate of title or absence of any annotation.
However, a purchaser cannot close his eyes to facts which should put
a reasonable man upon his guard, and then claim that he acted in
good faith under the belief that there was no defect in the title of the
vendor.
VI. LIS PENDENS
Portes vs. Alcala
The notice of lis pendens is an announcement to the whole world that
a particular real property is in litigation. The inscription serves as a
warning that one who acquires an interest over litigated property
does so at his own risk, or that he gambles on the result of the
litigation over the property.
By disregarding the inscriptions, the buyer assumes the risk of losing
the property.
Heirs of Marasigan vs. IAC
Any transaction effective during the period of litigation is subject to
the risks implicit in the notice of lis pendens and to the eventual
outcome of the litigation.
PD 1529. Section 76. Notice of lis pendens.
• GR: No action, judgment, and proceeding to vacate or reverse
any judgment shall have any effect upon registered land as
against persons other than the parties thereto.
o Recover possession of real estate,
o Quiet title,
o Remove clouds upon the title,
o Partition,
o Other proceedings of any kind in court directly affecting the
title to land or the use or occupation thereof or the buildings
thereon.
• XPN: Unless there shall have been filed and registered a
memorandum or notice stating
o the institution of such action or proceeding,
o the court wherein the same is pending,
o date of the institution,
o reference to the number of the certificate of title,
o adequate description of the land affected, and
o the registered owner thereof.
Villanueva vs. CA
Although it is not necessary for the applicant to prove his ownership
or interest over the property sought to be affected by lis pendens, the
applicant must, in the complaint or answer filed in the subject
litigation, assert a claim of possession or title over the subject
property in order to give due course to his application.
As settled, lis pendens may be annotated only where there is an action
or proceeding in court which affects the title to, or possession of, real
property.
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People vs. RTC of Manila
The following are considered encumbrances: A claim, lien, charge, or
liability attached to and binding real property; e.g., a mortgage,
judgment lien, lease, security interest, easement or right of way,
accrued and unpaid taxes.
A lien is already an existing burden or charge on the property while a
notice of lis pendens, as the very term connotes, is only a notice or
warning that a claim or possible charge on the property is pending
determination by the court.
It follows to reason, therefore, that the mere failure to state in a
public document, as a notarized deed of sale, the existence of a notice
of lis pendens does not constitute falsification of a public document
under Article 172 of the Revised Penal Code.
Lecture
GR: Personal actions cannot be subject of lis pendens.
XPN: Dissolution of marriage
SLDC vs. CA
Whether the registration of the sale after the annotation of the notice
of lis pendens obliterate the effects of delivery and possession in
good faith which occurred prior to SLDC’s knowledge of the
transaction in favor of Babasanta.
No. The sale in favor of SLDC had long been consummated insofar as
the obligation of the Spouses Lu to transfer ownership over the
property to SLDC is concerned.
PD 1529. Section 77. Cancellation of lis pendens.
• Before final judgment, a notice of lis pendens may be canceled
upon order of the court, after proper showing that the notice is
for the purpose of molesting the adverse party, or that it is not
necessary to protect the rights of the party who caused it to be
registered.
• It may also be canceled by the Register of Deeds upon verified
petition of the party who caused the registration thereof.
• At any time after final judgment in favor of the defendant, or
other disposition of the action such as to terminate finally all
rights of the plaintiff in and to the land and/or buildings involved,
in any case in which a memorandum or notice of lis pendens has
been registered as provided in the preceding section, the notice
of lis pendens shall be deemed canceled upon the registration of
a certificate of the clerk of court in which the action or
proceeding was pending stating the manner of disposal thereof.
Magdalena vs. CA
The notice of lis pendens is ordinarily recorded without the
intervention of the court where the action is pending. The notice is
but an incident in an action, an extrajudicial one, to be sure. It does
not affect the merits thereof.
The cancellation of such a precautionary notice is therefore also a
mere incident in the action and may be ordered by the Court having
jurisdiction of it at any given time. Its continuance or removal is not
contingent on the existence of a final judgment in the action, and
ordinarily has no effect on the merits thereof.
Rule 13. Section 14. Notice of lis pendens.
In an action affecting the title or the right of possession of real
property, the plaintiff and the defendant, when affirmative relief
is claimed in his answer, may record in the office of the registry of
deeds of the province in which the property is situated notice of
the pendency of the action.
Said notice shall contain the names of the parties and the object
of the action or defense, and a description of the property in that
province affected thereby.
Only from the time of filing such notice for record shall a
purchaser, or encumbrancer of the property affected thereby, be
deemed to have constructive notice of the pendency of the action,
and only of its pendency against the parties designated by their
real names.
The notice of lis pendens hereinabove mentioned may be
cancelled only upon order of the court, after proper showing that
the notice is for the purpose of molesting the adverse party, or that
it is not necessary to protect the rights of the rights of the party
who caused it to be recorded.
ADVERSE CLAIM AND LIS PENDENS
Valderama vs. Arguelles (not in syllabus)
As distinguished from an adverse claim, the notice of lis pendens is
ordinarily recorded without the intervention of the court where the
action is pending.
Moreover, a notice of lis pendens neither affects the merits of a case
nor creates a right or a lien. The notice is but an extrajudicial incident
in an action. It is intended merely to constructively advise, or warn,
all people who deal with the property that they so deal with it at their
own risk, and whatever rights they may acquire in the property in any
voluntary transaction are subject to the results of the action.
Corollarily, unlike the rule in adverse claims, the cancellation of a
notice lis pendens is also a mere incident in the action, and may be
ordered by the Court having jurisdiction of it at any given time. Its
continuance or removal is not contingent on the existence of a final
judgment in the action, and ordinarily has no effect on the merits
thereof.
Given the foregoing, the law and jurisprudence provide clear
distinctions between an annotation of an adverse claim, on one hand,
and an annotation of a notice of lis pendens on the other.
In sum, the main differences between the two are as follows:
(1) an adverse claim protects the right of a claimant during the
pendency of a controversy while a notice of lis pendens protects
the right of the claimant during the pendency of the action or
litigation; and
(2) an adverse claim may only be cancelled upon filing of a petition
before the court which shall conduct a hearing on its validity while
a notice of lis pendensmay be cancelled without a court hearing.
A subsequent annotation of a notice of lis pendens on a certificate of
title does not necessarily render a petition for cancellation of adverse
claim on the same title moot and academic.
RAD