Re: Segregation requirement for Expediente de Dominio proceedings
In 2023, Efraín Torres Pérez and Mirka Ivelisse Cabrera Vélez, a married couple, sought judicial recognition of ownership (expediente de dominio) over a parcel of land located in Isabela, Puerto Rico. They had acquired the property in 2011 by virtue of a private contract with the previous owner, Virginia Pérez Aldarondo. Mrs. Pérez-Aldarondo had herself obtained the property in 1951 through a private contract with the owners before her. Together, both owners were in possession of the property continuously, publicly, and peacefully for over thirty years. The property, however, lacked formal registration in the Puerto Rico Property Registry.
The Court of First Instance rejected the couple’s petition on the grounds that they failed to prove that the property’s segregation was approved by the proper government agency, as required by the Puerto Rico Property Registry Act. The petitioners then filed a petition for writ of certiorari before the Court of Appeals, which was denied. However, the Supreme Court ultimately granted review to clarify whether evidence of segregation permits is necessary in cases involving parcels derived from unregistered parent properties or segregated before the effective date of applicable planning laws.
In a decision authored by Associate Justice Ángel Colón-Pérez, the Court held that petitioners are not required to present evidence of government-approved segregation under two scenarios: first, where the parent parcel is not registered in the Property Registry, and second, where the segregation occurred before the effective date of the “Ley de Planificación, Urbanización y Zonificación de Puerto Rico” on September 4, 1944. The Court reasoned that Article 185 of the Puerto Rico Property Registry Act only imposes the requirement of segregation permits when the parent parcel is registered. When the parent parcel is not registered, the statute requires only that the petitioner state that fact. Thus, the lack of a formal segregation permit did not bar relief under the expediente de dominio process for the Petitioners in this case. Consequently, the Supreme Court remanded the case to the Court of First Instance to continue proceedings in accordance with its holding.
The Court emphasized that the expediente de dominio is a non-contentious proceeding designed to justify ownership, but its resolution does not have the effect of res judicata. As such, any person alleging a superior right to the property retains their ability to bring an ordinary adversarial ownership action. The decision clarifies a key aspect of the Puerto Rico Real Property Act, stating that segregation permits are not universally required in all cases involving unregistered parcels. When the parent parcel is also unregistered, the court must treat the segregated parcel as if it were always independent.
Author: Zulinnette Pinzón-Rosario, Esq.
This article was originally published in From the Bar, Summer 2025, Issue No. 67 — a publication of the Federal Bar Association, Hon. Raymond L. Acosta Puerto Rico Chapter. Reproduced with attribution for informational purposes.
