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  • Llunar Vs Ricafort

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    Analyn Licyayo Taguiling
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    Severina Bañez hired Ricafort to recover a parcel of land owned by the Bañez family that was fraudulently registered under Ricardo and Ard Cervantes. Ricafort received ₱95,000 from Bañez for filing fees, redemption price, and attorney's fees. However, three years later Bañez learned that no case was ever filed. Ricafort refused to return the full ₱95,000, arguing another lawyer filed a case, though Bañez had no knowledge of this. The court ruled Ricafort must return the full ₱95,000 as no services were delivered and he was previously suspended from practicing law. Due to his repeated

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    Llunar vs Ricafort

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    Severina Bañez hired Ricafort to recover a parcel of land owned by the Bañez family that was fraudulently registered under Ricardo and Ard Cervantes. Ricafort received ₱95,000 from Bañez for filing fees, redemption price, and attorney's fees. However, three years later Bañez learned that no case was ever filed. Ricafort refused to return the full ₱95,000, arguing another lawyer filed a case, though Bañez had no knowledge of this. The court ruled Ricafort must return the full ₱95,000 as no services were delivered and he was previously suspended from practicing law. Due to his repeated

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    314 views1 page

    Llunar Vs Ricafort

    Uploaded by

    Analyn Licyayo Taguiling
    Severina Bañez hired Ricafort to recover a parcel of land owned by the Bañez family that was fraudulently registered under Ricardo and Ard Cervantes. Ricafort received ₱95,000 from Bañez for filing fees, redemption price, and attorney's fees. However, three years later Bañez learned that no case was ever filed. Ricafort refused to return the full ₱95,000, arguing another lawyer filed a case, though Bañez had no knowledge of this. The court ruled Ricafort must return the full ₱95,000 as no services were delivered and he was previously suspended from practicing law. Due to his repeated

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
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    of 1

    LLUNAR VS RICAFORT, JUNE 16, 2016

    Severina Baez hired Ricafort to file a case against father and son Ricardo and Ard Cervantes for the recovery of a
    parcel of land allegedly owned by the Baez family but was fraudulently registered under the name of Ricardo and
    later was transferred to Ard. The property, which Ard had mortgaged with the Rural Bank of Malilipot, Albay, was
    the subject of foreclosure proceedings at the time the respondent was hired. The respondent received from the
    complainant the following amounts: (a) P70,000.00 as partial payment of the redemption price of the property; (b)
    P19,000.00 to cover the filing fees; and (c) P6,500.00 as attorneys fees.
    Three years later, the complainant learned that no case involving the subject property was ever filed by Ricafort.
    Thus, Severina demanded that the respondent return to her the amount of P95,000.00. The respondent refused to
    return the whole amount of P95,000.00 to the complainant. He argued that a complaint for annulment of title
    against Ard Cervantes had actually been filed in court, though not by him, but by another lawyer, Atty. Edgar M.
    Abitria. Thus, he was willing to return only what was left of the P95,000.00 after deducting therefrom the
    P50,000.00 that he paid to Atty. Abitria as acceptance fee for handling the case.
    The complainant refused to recognize the complaint for annulment of title filed by Atty. Abitria and claimed that she
    had no knowledge of Atty. Abitrias engagement as counsel. Besides, the complaint was filed three (3) years late
    and the property could no longer be redeemed from the bank. Also, the complainant discovered that the
    respondent had been suspended indefinitely from the practice of law since May 29, 2002, which the complainant
    suspected was the reason another lawyer, and not the respondent, filed the complaint for annulment of title in
    court.

    Decision 5 A.C. No. 6484 have been justified, but the respondent is not an ordinary violator of the profession's
    ethical rules; he is a repeat violator of these rules. In Nunez v. Atty. Ricafort, 19 we had adjudged the respondent
    liable for grave misconduct in failing to turn over the proceeds of the sale of a property owned by his client and in
    issuing bounced checks to satisfy the alias writ of execution issued by the court in the case for violation of Batas
    Pambansa Blg. 22 filed against him by his client. We then suspended him indefinitely from the practice of law - a
    penalty short of disbarment. Under his current liability -which is no different in character from his previous offense
    -we have no other way but to proceed to decree his disbarment. He has become completely unworthy of
    membership in our honorable profession. With respect to the amount to be returned to the complainant, we agree
    with the IBP that the respondent should return the whole amount of 1!95,000.00, without deductions, regardless of
    whether the engagement of Atty. Abitria as counsel was with the complainant's knowledge and consent. In the first
    place, the hiring of Atty. Abitria would not have been necessary had the respondent been honest and diligent in
    handling the complainant's case from the start. The complainant should not be burdened with the expense of hiring
    another lawyer to perform the services that the respondent was hired to do, especially in this case where there was
    an inexcusable non-delivery of such services

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