CASE DIGEST
26 – General Milling Corp. v Spouses Ramos
ObliCon
Court Supreme Court, Third Division
Citation G.R. No. 193723
Date 20 July 2011
Petitioner General Milling Corporation
Respondent Spouses Librado Ramos and Remedios Ramos
Ponente Velasco Jr.
Relevant topic/s ● Mora solvendi
FACTS:
● On August 24 1989, petitioners entered into a Growers Contract with respondents. Under this contract,
petitioner was to supply broiler chickens to respondents which the latter will raise on their lands.
● The contract was accompanied with a mortgage over a piece of land (Barrio Banaybanay, Lipa City,
Batangas) upon which the respondent’s conjugal home was built. The spouses further agreed to put up a
surety bond at the rate of 20,000 pero 1,000 chicks delivered.
● The Deed of Real Estate Mortgage extended to Spouses Ramos a maximum credit line of PhP215,000
payable within an indenite period with an interest of twelve percent (12%) per annum.
● Spouses Ramos eventually were unable to settle their account with GMC. They alleged that they suffered
business losses because of the negligence of GMC and its violation of the Growers Contract.
● In 1997, the property mortgaged was foreclosed and sold in a public auction. It was foreclosed for
PhP935,882,075, an amount representing the losses on chicks and feeds exclusive of interest at 12% per
annum and attorney's fees.
● To complicate matters, on October 27, 1997, GMC informed the spouses that its Agribusiness Division had
closed its business and poultry operations.
● On March 3, 2000, Spouses Ramos filed a Complaint for Annulment and/or Declaration of Nullity of the
Extrajudicial Foreclosure Sale with Damages. They contended that the extrajudicial foreclosure sale on June
10, 1997 was null and void, since there was no compliance with the requirements of posting and publication of
notices under Act No. 3135. They likewise claimed that there was no sheriff's adavit to prove compliance
with the requirements on posting and publication of notices. It was further alleged that the Deed of Real Estate
Mortgage had no fixed term.
● It was further alleged that the Deed of Real Estate Mortgage had no fixed term.
● Librado Ramos alleged that, when the property was foreclosed, GMC did not notify him at all of the
foreclosure.
● The RTC decided in favor of Spouses Ramos. Petitioner appealed to the CA. The CA rules that:
o The CA, however, still found that GMC's action against Spouses Ramos was premature, as
they were not in default when the action was filed on May 7, 1997. In this case, a careful
scrutiny of the evidence on record shows that defendant-appellant GMC made no demand to
spouses Ramos for the full payment of their obligation. A perusal of the letters presented and
offered as evidence by defendant-appellant GMC did not "demand" but only request spouses
Ramos to go to the office of GMC to "discuss" the settlement of their account.
▪ NOTE THAT THIS IS NOW THE ISSUE OF THE CASE. GMC contends that sufficient
demand was made.
ISSUE-HELD-RATIO:
ISSUE AND HELD RATIO
W/N there was ● There are three requisites necessary for a finding of default. First, the obligation is
sufficient demandable and liquidated; second,the debtor delays performance; and third, the creditor
demand made judicially or extrajudicially requires the debtor's performance.
to the Spouses ● According to the CA, GMC did not make a demand on Spouses Ramos but merely requested
Ramos to pay them to go to GMC's office to discuss the settlement of their account. In spite of the lack of
their obligation. demand made on the spouses, however, GMC proceeded with the foreclosure proceedings.
Neither was there any provision in the Deed of Real Estate Mortgage allowing GMC to
NO. There was
extrajudicially foreclose the mortgage without need of demand.
no proper
● However, if demand was not made, then the loans had not yet become due and
demand made
by GMC. demandable. This meant that respondents had not defaulted in their payments and the
foreclosure by petitioner was premature. Foreclosure is valid only when the debtor is in
Page 1 of 2
CASE DIGEST
26 – General Milling Corp. v Spouses Ramos
ObliCon
default in the payment of his obligation
RULING:
WHEREFORE, the petition is DENIED. The CA Decision in CA-G.R. CR-H.C. No. 85400 is AFFIRMED.
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