WIEGEL V.

SEMPIO-DIY

FACTS:
1. Lilia Olivia Wiegel married Karl Heinz Wiegel on July, 1978.
2. Karl, upon learning that Lilia had a subsisting marriage, filed for a declaration of
nullity of their marriage.
3. Lilia contracted her first marriage with Eduardo Maxion on June 25, 1972.
4. She claims that the first marriage is “void” because they were forced to enter the
union and Maxion was already married to someone else at that time.

ISSUE:

1. Whether or Not Lilia’s first marriage is void due to “force”

2. Whether or Not Lilia’s marriage with Karl Weigel is valid as she claims her first
marriage with Maxion was void ab initio for he was already married to someone
else when they got married.

HELD:

1. No. It is not void but merely voidable.

2. No. Lilia’s subsequent marriage is void.

RATIO:

1. Presence of force only makes a marriage merely voidable, not void. (CC ART.
85) It is valid until annulled. Since there was no annulment, Lilia’s marriage with
Eduardo Maxion is still valid.

2. Assuming that the marriage with Eduardo Maxion is void, judicial declaration of
nullity is still needed especially for purposes of remarriage. Without judicial
declaration of nullity, subsequent marriages would be regarded void under the
law.

DISPOSITION: Petition DISMISSED.