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High court issues ruling in land dispute
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Posted on Apr 10 2012
On Thursday, April 5, 2012, the Supreme Court issued a unanimous opinion in Manglona v. Baza.
Joaquin Manglona originally leased a property in Garapan in 1984 and then agreed to buy it in 1997 from Theresita Baza and her family. The parties signed a sales contract that modified and incorporated parts of the original lease agreement. Most notably, the rental obligations under the lease agreement were replaced by the payment provisions of the sales contract, which required Manglona to pay in full by 2005. The lease agreement continued to operate and Manglona was to remain a tenant until the purchase price was fully paid.
By March 2008, Manglona still had not paid off the balance due so Baza terminated the lease agreement and sales contract. Manglona responded by filing a complaint asking the Superior Court to: (1) prevent Baza from foreclosing Manglona’s interest in the property, (2) find that Manglona had fully satisfied all contract obligations, and (3) confer title to him. Baza filed a counterclaim for possession of the property and breach of contract.
In July 2009, the Superior Court found Manglona liable for breach of contract and awarded Baza $79,806.45 in back rent and returned possession of the property to Baza. The Superior Court also declined to grant Manglona equitable relief, which might have limited the harshness of the legal remedy and allowed him to retain possession of the property.
On appeal, the Supreme Court held that the trial court had miscalculated the amount of back rent owed but affirmed the remainder of the Superior Court’s judgment. In affirming the decision of the trial court, the Supreme Court agreed that Baza gave sufficient notice of default under the lease agreement and sales contract. Therefore, Baza had a right to reclaim the property from Manglona after he subsequently failed to cure his breach within 30 days of receiving the default notice.
The Supreme Court’s full opinion is Manglona v. Baza, 2012 MP 4, and will be found at http://www.cnmilaw.org/supreme_12.htm and http://www.justice.gov.mp/news_archive.aspx. [B][I](CNMI Judiciary)[/I][/B]
