HARTFORD BEAUMONT, assignee of W. Borck, Plaintiff-Appellee, v.

MAURO PRIETO, BENITO

LEGARDA; JR.,

and BENITO VALDES as administrator of the estate of Benito Legarda, deceased, and BENITO

VALDES, Defendants-Appellants

Principle:

When the agent acts in his own name he is not personally liable to the person with whom he enters into
a contract when things belonging to the principal are the subject thereof, yet such third person has a
right of action not only against the principal but also against the agent, when the rights and obligations
which are the subject-matter of the litigation cannot be legally and juridically determined without
hearing both of them. (Article 1883)

Facts:

 Negotiations having been had, prior to December 4, 1911, between W. Borck and Benito Valdes,
relative to the purchase, at first, of a part of the Nagtajan Hacienda.

Valdes sent Borck the following letter: (Offer)

MANILA, December 4, 1911.

Mr. W. BORCK,

Real Estate Agent,

Manila, P.I.

SIR: In compliance with your request I herewith give you an option for three months to buy the property
of Mr. Benito Legarda known as the Nagtahan Hacienda, situated in the district of Sampaloc, Manila,
and consisting of about, 1,993,000 sq. meters of land, for the price of its assessed government valuation.

 The petitioner accepted the offer, provided that he would be allowed to inspect the Title and
other documents pertaining to such.
 The defendants had persistently refused to deliver to him the property titles and other
documents relative to said property and to execute any instrument of conveyance thereof in his
favor; that the plaintiff, on account of said refusal on the part of the defendant Valdes
 The plaintiff’s action is based on the failure of the defendant Valdes, as the agent or attorney in
fact of the other defendant Benito Legarda, to perform the obligation contracted by the said
Benito Valdes to sell to the plaintiff the property belonging to the said Legarda.
 Inasmuch as it was set forth in the document Exhibit E that the property known as the
NagtajanHacienda, (an option ,to buy which was given by the defendant Valdes to the plaintiff
Borck) belonged to Benito Legarda; as negotiations had been undertaken prior to the execution
of the said document,between the plaintiff Borck and the defendant Valdes with respect to the
m-latters set forth in that document, by virtue of which Borch knew that Valdes was Legarda’s
 agent or attorney-in-fact, although it appears in said instrument that the agent Valdes acted in
his own name.
 Legarda (principal) requested to be removed as one of the Parties because the act of Valdes
(agent) was of his own.

Issue:

W/N Borck has a cause of action against Legarda (Principal)

Ruling:

Held: YES. Although, according to article 1717 of the Civil Code (now Article 1883) when the agent acts
in his own name he is not personally liable to the person with whom he enters into a contract when
things belonging to the principal are the object thereof, yet such third person has a right of action not
only against the principal but also against the agent, when the rights and obligations which are the
subject-matter of the litigation cannot be legally and juridically determined without hearing both of
them.