HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — An elderly man fighting to have two parcels of land returned to him after he claimed his son fraudulently obtained them will have another chance in court, as the Supreme Court of Guam reversed the Superior Court’s dismissal of the case.
The case began on Dec. 6, 2019, when Angel Cruz filed a complaint with the Superior Court of Guam alleging that his son Joseph Cruz abused his position of trust “by fraudulently acquiring two parcels of Angel’s property in Talo’fo’fo’ via quitclaim deed,” the Supreme Court stated in its opinion.
According to the complaint, Angel Cruz is between 80 and 89 years old and Joseph Cruz acted as his fiduciary.
“On March 24, 2014, Joseph recorded two quitclaim deeds with the Department of Land Management purporting to voluntarily transfer the properties from Angel to Joseph,” the court document states.
According to Angel Cruz, the act was done fraudulently, as he argued he did not sign the deed.
“The properties were transferred through fraud by forging the signature of Angel on the deed and/or obtaining the deed by serving in a confidential relationship with an elderly person,” the court document states.
The case was dismissed by the Superior Court for failure to state a claim on statute of limitations grounds.
But, according to the Supreme Court, the trial court was incorrect and found it was inappropriate to grant the motion to dismiss.
The high court found that Angel Cruz was not on constructive notice under Guam law, and that constructive notice from a public record is no defense to fraud.
“Angel’s complaint contained a short and plain statement that the alleged fraud was not discovered until Nov. 19, 2019, which is enough to survive a motion to dismiss on statute of limitations grounds,” the Supreme Court opinion states.
The dismissal was reversed, and the case remanded to the trial court.
The Guam Judicial Center is seen Monday, Sept. 25, 2023, in Hagåtña.
