Professional Documents
Culture Documents
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G.R. No. 162788. July 28, 2005.
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* THIRD DIVISION.
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ties or their privies, in all later suits and on all points and
matters determined in the previous suit. The term literally means
a matter adjudged, judicially acted upon, or settled by judgment.
The principle bars a subsequent suit involving the same parties,
subject matter, and cause of action. Public policy requires that
controversies must be settled with finality at a given point in
time.
Same Same Same Elements of.The elements of res
judicata are as follows: (1) the former judgment or order must be
final (2) it must have been rendered on the merits of the
controversy (3) the court that rendered it must have had
jurisdiction over the subject matter and the parties and (4) there
must have beenbetween the first and the second actionsan
identity of parties, subject matter and cause of action.
Same Same Same Mere mention of other civil cases without
showing the identity of rights asserted and reliefs sought is not
enough basis to claim that respondent is guilty of forum shopping,
or that res judicata exists.The onus of proving allegations rests
upon the party raising them. As to the matter of forum shopping
and res judicata, petitioners have failed to provide this Court with
relevant and clear specifications that would show the presence of
an identity of parties, subject matter, and cause of action between
the present and the earlier suits. They have also failed to show
whether the other case was decided on the merits. Instead, they
have made only bare assertions involving its existence without
reference to its facts. In other words, they have alleged
conclusions of law without stating any factual or legal basis. Mere
mention of other civil cases without showing the identity of rights
asserted and reliefs sought is not enough basis to claim that
respondent is guilty of forum shopping, or that res judicata exists.
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PANGANIBAN, J.:
The Case
1
Before us is a Petition for Review under Rule 45 of2 the
Rules of Court, assailing the August
3
26, 2003 Decision and
the March 9, 2004 Resolution of the Court of Appeals (CA)
in CAGR CV No. 34702. The challenged Decision disposed
as follows:
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The Facts
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The Issues
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This Court will not address the allegations that were not raised in the Petition,
but only in petitioners Memorandum. In the Courts Resolution dated October 13,
2004, the parties were directed to submit their respective Memoranda without
raising new issues. In their Memorandum, petitioners added paragraphs alleging
that respondent had failed to make a valid tender of payment and abandoned their
right to the repurchase agreement. These are factual issues that are not proper in
a Petition for Review on Certiorari. (1, Rule 45, Rules of Court) Moreover, it
would be against the fundamental right to due process if these allegations are
considered without hearing private respondent and the CA on this matter. A
Petition for review essentially charges the lower court with reversible errors.
How can there be any such mistakes with respect to a matter not raised and taken
up in the assailed Decision?
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Rule on Substitution
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not affect the validity of a promulgated decision. Mere
failure to substitute for a deceased plaintiff is not a
sufficient ground to nullify a trial courts decision. The
alleging party must prove that there was an undeniable
violation of due process.
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Substitution in
the Instant Case
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another, other
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than by an appeal or a special civil action for
certiorari.
Forum shopping trifles with the courts, abuses their
processes, degrades the 39
administration of justice, and
congests court dockets. Willful and deliberate violation of
the rule against it is a ground for the summary dismissal 40
of
the case it may also constitute direct contempt of court.
The test for determining the existence of forum shopping
is whether the elements of litis pendentia are present, or
whether a final judgment
41
in one case amounts to res
judicata in another. We note, however, petitioners claim
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This ground is also referred to as lis pendens or auter action pendant. Buan v.
Lopez, 229 Phil. 65, 68 145 SCRA 34, 38, October 13, 1986.
To be more accurate, petitioners should have alleged, not simply the rule on
forum shopping, but also res judicata as a
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petitioners.
SO ORDERED.
o0o
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