Disguised Sale Claim Over Prior Private Land Agreement Fails

A person, having an unwritten agreement with another for the purchase of certain land, subsequently brought an action seeking nullity of a formal notarial deed of sale executed between the seller and a third party, arguing that the prior agreement constituted a promise to sell which, coupled with the subsequent formal act, evidenced a sale to the initial claimant under the theory of a disguised sale, where the evidence showed that the initial purchaser had paid part of the price and taken possession. The court rejected the appeal, reasoning that while an agreement to sell can be perfected by the deposit of earnest money and the subsequent execution of a formal deed, in this case, the prior private agreement was established only by the plaintiff's unsworn testimony, which was insufficient to overcome the presumption of validity and authenticity of the formal notarial deed executed with the third party.