Professional Documents
Culture Documents
For purposes of legal research of the readers, below is a recent Reply that I had filed in a
civil case involving the issue of nonpayment of additional docket and filing fees in
relation to acquisition by the court of subject-matter jurisdiction over the said case. It
involved an amended complaint with new/additional financial prayers, which had been
admitted by the court. The readers will find the citations therein useful for research
purposes. References to the case number, caption and parties in the said civil case have
been omitted.
REPLY
X x x.
Plaintiff prays for such other relief as may be just and equitable in
the premises.
X x x.
2. The defendants URGENT MOTION (In Re: the Recently Admitted Amended
Complaint) argues and prays as follows:
x x x.
Although the defendants, thru counsel, are ready to file their amended answer to the
amended complaint within 10 days from its approval during the motion hearing on
November 9, 2007, i.e., to end on November 19, 2007, however, in fairness to the fiscal
needs of the State and the Judiciary and to give due respect to prevailing doctrines on
docket/filing fees and jurisdiction, the defendants hereby respectfully move that an order
be issued:
x x x.
X x x.
X x x.
x x x.
Xxx.
1. That while the only reason given for the amendment of the
complaint is the inclusion of the Government of the Philippines as
an indispensable party; the plaintiffs have taken the improper
liberty of amending portions of the allegations in the complaint and
even has eliminated entire paragraph, thus:
X x x.
It is a rule that the correct docket fee must be paid before the Court
will act on the petition or complaint. The Court of Justice is not
called upon to act on a complaint or a petition in the absence of
payment of a corresponding docket fee. (Garcia vs. Vasquez, 28
SCRA 330, 331.) Before the payment of the docket fee, the case is
not deemed registered and docketed (Lazaro vs. Endencia, 57
Phil., 552; Malimit vs. Degamo, 12 SCRA 454; Lee vs. Republic,
10 SCRA, 67).
The petitioners assail the above order. They insist that they had
correctly paid the docketing fee in the amount of P60.00, or in the
alternative, that if they are to pay an additional docketing fee, it
should be based on the amended complaint.
X x x.
SO ORDERED.
2. In the case of Sunlife Insurance Office, Ltd. v. Asuncion, 170 SCRA 274, 285,
February 13, 1989, iut was held, thus: Where the filing of the initiatory
pleading is not accompanied by payment of the docket fee, the court may
allow payment of the fee within a reasonable time but in no case beyond the
applicable prescriptive or reglementary period. (see also: Ayala Corporation
v. Madayag, 181 SCRA 687, 689, January 30, 1990).
In the case at bar, the defendants in effect fairly moved that the plaintiff be given
a reasonable time to pay the additional jurisdictional docket fees.
X x x.
Thus, the rule is that upon the filing of the pleading or other application
which initiates an action or proceeding, the fees prescribed therefor shall
be paid in full.[4] However, a litigant who is a pauper is exempt from the
payment of the docket fees. But the fees shall be a lien on the judgment
rendered in favor of said pauper litigant, unless the court otherwise
provides.[5]
In the case at bar, petitioner impugns the Court of Appeals ruling that
respondents complaint in Civil Case No. 97-120 is not capable of
pecuniary estimation and that, therefore, the docket fee is fixed at P600.00
pursuant to Section 7(b)(1), Rule 141 of the Revised Rules of Court.
We agree with petitioner that the Court of Appeals erred in issuing such
ruling. It should have considered the allegations of the complaint and the
character of the reliefs sought, the criteria in determining the nature of an
action.[7]
Obviously, respondents complaint is a real action involving not only the recovery of real
properties, but likewise the cancellation of the titles thereto.
We note, however, that neither the assessed value nor the estimated
value of the questioned parcels of land were alleged by respondent in
both his original and amended complaint. What he stated in his amended
complaint is that the disputed realties have a BIR zonal valuation of
P1,200.00 per square meter. However, the alleged BIR zonal valuation
is not the kind of valuation required by the Rule. It is the assessed value of
the realty.[11] Having utterly failed to comply with the requirement of the
Rule that he shall allege in his complaint the assessed value of his real
properties in controversy, the correct docket fee cannot be computed. As
such, his complaint should not have been accepted by the trial court. We
thus rule that it has not acquired jurisdiction over the present case for
failure of herein respondent to pay the required docket fee. On this ground
alone, respondents complaint is vulnerable to dismissal.
X x x.
X x x.
The rule is well-settled that the court acquires jurisdiction over any
case only upon the payment of the prescribed docket fees. In the
case of Sun Insurance Office, Ltd. (SIOL) v. Asuncion, this Court
held that it is not simply the filing of the complaint or appropriate
initiatory pleading, but the payment of the prescribed docket fee
that vests a trial court with jurisdiction over the subject matter or
nature of the action.
X x x.
It has also been held that where a complaint is entitled as one for
specific performance but nonetheless prays for the issuance of a
deed of sale for a parcel of land, its primary objective and nature is
one to recover the parcel of land itself and, thus, is deemed a real
action. In such a case, the action must be filed in the proper court
where the property is located:
In this Court, the appellant insists that her action is one for specific
performance, and, therefore, personal and transitory in nature.
This very issue was considered and decided by this Court in the
case of Manuel B. Ruiz vs. J.M. Tuason & Co., Inc. et al., L-18692,
promulgated 31 January 1963. There the Court, by unanimous vote
of all the Justices, held as follows:
This contention has no merit. Although appellants complaint is entitled to be one for
specific performance, yet the fact that he asked that a deed of sale of a parcel of land
situated in Quezon City be issued in his favor and that a transfer certificate of title
covering said parcel of land be issued to him shows that the primary objective and nature
of the action is to recover the parcel of land itself because to execute in favor of appellant
the conveyance requested there is need to make a finding that he is the owner of the land
which in the last analysis resolves itself into an issue of ownership. Hence, the action
must be commenced in the province where the property is situated pursuant to Section 3,
Rule 5, of the Rules of Court, which provides that actions affecting title
In the case at bar, therefore, the complaint filed with the trial court
was in the nature of a real action, although ostensibly denominated
as one for specific performance. Consequently, the basis for
determining the correct docket fees shall be the assessed value of
the property, or the estimated value thereof as alleged by the
claimant. Rule 141, Section 7, of the Rules of Court, as amended
by A.M. No. 00-2-01-SC, provides:
(b) xxx
Xxx.
Cc:
EXPLANATION
A copy of this pleading is served on opposing counsel by registered mail due to the lack
of field staff of undersigned counsel at this time and the urgency of filing the same.