NORTHWEST)ORIENT)AIRLINES)V)CA)

FACTS:)
)
1. Northwest,,a,corporation,organized,under,the,laws,of,Minnesota,,USA,sought,
to, in, a, civil, case, in, , RTC,, Manila, judgment, in, its, favor, by, a, Japanese, Court,
against,Sharp,Company,,a,corporation,incorporated,under,PH,laws.,
2. Factual,antecedents:,
o Northwest, entered, into, an, International, Passenger, Sales, Agency,
Agreement, with, Sharp, through, its, Japan, branch., The, former,
authorized,the,latter,to,sell,its,air,transportation,tickets.,
o Sharp,was,unable,to,remit,the,proceeds,of,the,ticket,sales,under,the,
said,agreement.,
o As,a,consequence,,Northwest,sued,Sharp,in,Japan,for,the,collection,of,
unremitted,proceeds,of,ticket,sales,with,claim,for,damages.,
o Tokyo,District,Court,decision:,
NIssued, a, writ, of, summons, but, was, unsuccessful, because, the, bailiff,
was,advised,by,the,Sharp,Japan,branch,that,the,person,authorized,to,
receive,court,processes,(Mr.,Dinozo),was,in,Manila.,
NWhen,the,summons,was,served,to,Dinozo,,it,refused,the,receive,the,
same,claiming,that,he,was,no,longer,an,employee,of,Sharp.,
NThus,,the,Tokyo,Court,,directed,the,issuance,of,summons,at,the,head,
office,of,Sharp,in,Manila,through,diplomatic,channels.,
NDespite, receipt, of, summons,, Sharp, PH, failed, to, appear, at, the,
scheduled,hearing.,
NAs, a, consequence,, the, Tokyo, Court, proceeded, to, hear, the, case, and,
rendered,judgment,in,favor,of,the,plaintiff.,
o Sharp,received,a,copy,of,the,judgment.,In,the,absence,of,appeal,,the,
same,became,final,and,executory,
3. Northwest, failed, to, execute, the, decision, in, Japan,, hence,, a, suit, for, the,
enforcement,of,judgment,was,filed,by,Northwest,before,the,RTC,of,Manila.,
4. Sharps,Answer:,
o The,judgment,of,the,Japanese,Court,sought,to,be,enforced,is,null,and,
void,and,unenforceable,under,this,jurisdiction,having,been,rendered,
without,due,and,proper,notice.,
o There,was,collusion/fraud,
o Mistake,of,law,and,fact.,
5. After,trial,,Sharp,filed,a,Motion,for,Judgment,on,a,Demurrer,to,Evidence,,
6. RTC,Decision:,Granted,the,Demurrer,to,Evidence,for,want,of,jurisdiction.,If,
the,defendant,in,a,foreign,court,is,a,resident,in,the,court,of,the,foreign,court,
such,court,could,acquire,jurisdiction,over,the,person,of,the,defendant,but,it,
must, be, served, upon, the, defendant, in, the, territorial, jurisdiction, of, the,
foreign,court.,In,this,case,at,bar,,such,is,not,the,case,because,the,defendant,
was,served,with,summons,in,the,PH,and,not,in,Japan.,
o Foreign,judgment,was,null,and,void,for,want,of,jurisdiction,over,the,
person,of,the,defendant,considering,that,the,action,is,in#personam.,
 NThe, defendant, should, have, been, served, with, summons, in,
Japan, in, order, for, the, Japanese, Court, to, acquire, jurisdiction,
over,it.,
NThe,process,of,the,Court,in,Japan,sent,to,the,Philippines,which,
is,outside,Japanese,jurisdiction,cannot,confer,jurisdiction,over,
the,defendant,in,the,case,before,the,Japanese,Court.,
o Northwest, contends, that, the, Japanese, court, acquired, jurisdiction,
because,the,defendant,is,a,resident,of,Japan,having,4,branches,there,
and,had,a,permit,in,Japan,to,do,business.,
o Thus,, the, court, decided, that, the, writ, of, summons, should, have, been,
issued, in, the, 4, branches, not, in, the, Philippines, thru, a, Philippine,
Sheriff.,
7. Upon,appeal,,CA,sustained,TCs,decision.,Sharp,is,a,nonNresident,corporation,
of, Japan., As, such,, court, processes, must, be, served, upon, it, at, a, place, within,
the,State,in,which,the,action,was,brought,and,not,elsewhere.,The,service,of,
summons, effected, in, Manila, or, beyond, the, territorial, boundaries, of, Japan,
was,null,and,void,and,did,not,acquire,jurisdiction,over,the,person,of,Sharp.,
o It,relied,in,the,pronouncement,in,the,case,of,Boudard#v#Tait,#wherein,
it,was,held,that,the,process,of,the,court,has,no,extraterritorial,effect,
and, no, jurisdiction, is, acquired, over, the, person, of, the, defendant, by,
serving,him,beyond,the,boundaries,of,the,State.,
o In, action, in# personam,# personal, or, substituted, service, of, summons,
within,the,forum,is,required,for,the,court,to,acquire,jurisdiction,over,
the,defendant.,
o There,is,a,difference,between,a,action,in,personam,against,a,resident,
defendant,and,action,in,personam,against,a,nonNresident,defendant.,,
NJurisdiction,is,acquired,over,a,nonNresident,defendant,only,if,
he,is,served,personally,within,the,jurisdiction,of,the,court,,and,
over.,
NJurisdiction,over,a,resident,defendant,is,acquired,by,personal,,
substituted, or, constructive, service, conformable, to, statutory,
authorization.,
o The, argument, that, Sharp, is, considered, a, resident, defendant, in, Japan,
because,it,maintains,branches,there,is,without,merit.,
NAs, a, general, rule,, processes, of, the, court, cannot, lawfully, be,
served, outside, the, territorial, limits, of, the, jurisdiction, of, the,
court, from, where, it, issues, and, this, is, regardless, of, the,
residence,or,citizenship,of,the,party,this,served.,,
NThere, must, be, actual, service, within, the, proper, territorial,
limits,on,defendant,or,authorized,to,accept,service,for,him.,
NThus,,a,defendant,whether,resident,or,not,in,the,forum,where,
the, action, is, filed, must, be, served, with, summons, within, that,
forum.,
o Also,,a,corporation,being,an,artificial,being,,have,no,local,residence,or,
habitation., Jurisprudence, holds, that, foreign, or, domestic, character, of,
 corporation, is, to, be, determined, by, the, place, of, its, origin,, where, the,
carter,was,granted,and,not,by,the,location,of,its,business,activities.,
NSHARP, is, a, PHILIPPINE, CORPORATION, duly, incorporated,
under,Philippine,Laws.,Its,residence,is,in,the,PH,not,Japan.,
8. Hence,,this,petition,
,
ISSUE:)W/N)the)Japan)Court)acquired)jurisdiction)over)the)person)of)Sharp)and)
thus)judgment)could)be)enforced)against)it.)
)
HELD:))YES.)
1. As,a,general,rule,,a,foreign,judgment,is,presumed,to,be,valid,and,binding,in,
the,country,from,where,it,comes,,until,the,contrary,is,shown.,
o Judgment, in, an, action, in, personam, of, a, tribunal, of, a, foreign, country,
having,jurisdiction,to,pronounce,the,same,is,presumptive,evidence,of,
a,right,as,between,the,parties.,The,judgment,may,however,be,assailed,
by,evidence,of,want,of,jurisdiction,,want,of,notice,to,party,,collusion,,
fraud,, clear, mistake, of, law, or, fact., A, court, whether, of, the, PH, or,
elsewhere, enjoys, the, presumption, that, it, was, acting, in, the, lawful,
exercise,of,jurisdiction,and,has,regularly,performed,its,official,duty.,
o Thus,,it,is,incumbent,upon,Sharp,to,demonstrate,the,invalidity,of,the,
judgment.,
2. Since, the, issue, is, regarding, service, of, summons,, it, is, an, accepted, principle,
that, in, those, issue, relating, to, the, service, of, process, upon, a, defendant, are,
governed,by,the,internal,law,of,the,forum.,,In,this,case,,it,is,the,procedural,
law,of,Japan,where,the,judgment,was,rendered,that,determines,the,validity,
of,the,extraterritorial,service,of,process,on,Sharp.,
o Sharp,should,produce,evidence,what,the,Japanese,procedural,law,is.,In,
the, absence, of, which,, Service, of, summons, and, the, decision, shall, be,
presumed,valid.,
o In,the,absence,of,proof,of,Japanese,law,,the,presumption,of,identity,or,
similarity,may,be,invoked.,In,this,case,,the,Japansese,law,is,presumed,
to, be, similar, with, the, Philippine, Law, on, service, of, summons, on, a,
private,foreign,corporation,doing,business,in,the,Philippines.,
NUnder,Rule,14,,service,of,summons,may,be,made:,,
(1),On,its,resident,agent,designated,with,accordance,with,law,
for,that,purpose;,
, N,if,there,is,a,resident,agent,,service,of,summons,should,
be,EXCLUSIVELY,SENT,TO,HIM,
(2),If,no,resident,agent,,government,official,designated,by,law;,,
, NInsurance, Commissioner;, Superintendent, Bank;, SEC.,
The,government,office,shall,transmit,by,mail,the,summons,in,
its,principal,office,
(3),Any,of,its,officers,or,agents,within,the,PH.,
o Since,Sharp,did,not,show,evidence,that,it,has,no,resident,agent,,there,
arise,a,presumption,that,there,is,non.,Hence,,service,of,summon,could,
be,made,on,designated,government,official,or,its,officers.,,,
3. Since,,service,of,summons,in,Sharps,agent,(Mr.,Dinozo),was,unsuccessful,,it,
resorted,into,the,second,mode.,The,Tokyo,District,Court,requested,the,SC,of,
Japan, to, deliver, the, summons, in, the, PH., SC, of, Japan, sent, the, summons, to,
DFA, of, Japan, then, it, send, the, same, to, the, Embassy, of, Japan, in, Manila, and,
was,thereafter,delivered,to,DFA,then,to,the,RTC,of,Manila.,,The,Sheriff,then,
delivered, the, service, of, summon, at, its, principal, office., This, is, a, proper,
governmental,official,under,the,Rules.,
4. The, SC, also, ruled, that, domicile, in, the, State, is, alone, sufficient, to, bring, an,
absent,defendant,within,the,reach,of,the,States,jurisdiction,for,purposes,of,a,
personal,judgment,by,means,of,appropriate,substituted,or,personal,service,
with, the, State., This, is, embodied, in, Rule, 14,, Section, 18, wherein, service, of,
summons, on, residents, temporarily, out, of, the, PH, to, be, made, out, of, the,
country.,
5. While, it, is, true, that, the, domicile, of, a, State, is, where, it, is, incorporated,, a,
corporation, formed, in, one, state, may, for, certain, purposes, be, regarded, a,
resident,in,another,state,in,which,it,has,offices,and,transacts,business.,There,
is,an,assimilation,of,foreign,corporations,authorized,to,do,business,in,the,PH,
to, the, status, of, domestic, corporations,, hence, residing, in, the, country., The,
residence, may, be, determined, in, the, place, where, the, corporation, exercises,
its, corporate, functions., , A, foreign, corporation, licensed, to, do, business, in, a,
state, is, a, resident, of, any, country, where, it, maintains, an, office, or, agent, for,
transactions.,The,essential,element,is,locality,of,existence.,
o In, the, case, at, bar,, since, Sharp, admitted, doing, business, in, Japan,
through,its,4,branches,therein,,in,the,light,of,processual,presumption,,
SHARP,may,be,deemed,resident,of,Japan,,and,as,such,,was,amenable,to,
the,jurisdiction,of,the,courts,therein.,,
,