Case Digest (G.R. No. 182295)
Facts:
7K Corporation v. Eddie Albarico, G.R. No. 182295, June 26, 2013, the Supreme Court First Division, Sereno, C.J., writing for the Court.Respondent Eddie Albarico was a regular employee of petitioner 7K Corporation, having been hired in 1990 and promoted several times before being dismissed on April 5, 1993. On April 19, 1993 the parties executed a Submission Agreement before the National Conciliation and Mediation Board (NCMB) limiting the arbitration issue to whether Albarico was entitled to separation pay and sales commission.
While the NCMB arbitration was pending, Albarico filed a separate Complaint for illegal dismissal with money claims before the Arbitration Branch of the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC); the labor arbiter ruled for Albarico awarding separation pay in lieu of reinstatement, backwages and attorneys’ fees. On appeal the NLRC vacated the labor arbiter’s decision for forum shopping because the NCMB arbitration was still pending, explicitly stating that its dismissal was without prejudice to the NCMB case; that NLRC decision became final.
The parties submitted position papers to the NCMB (petitioner denying illegal dismissal and alleging abandonment; respondent adopting his labor arbiter position). After protracted delay, a voluntary arbitrator of the NCMB rendered a Decision on November 18, 2005 finding illegal dismissal, concluding reinstatement was not feasible, and awarding separation pay (two years at P4,456), backwages (P90,804) and attorneys’ fees. Petitioner appealed to the Court of Appeals (CA), arguing the voluntary arbitrator exceeded jurisdiction by deciding the legality of dismissal and awarding backwages and attorneys’ fees because the Submission Agreement limited arbitration only to separation pay and commission.
The CA, in a Decision dated September 18, 2007 (authored by Assoc. Justice Sixto C. Marella, Jr., with Justices Amelita G. Tolentino and Lucenito N. Tagle concurring), affirmed the arbitrator’s Decision but deleted the attorneys’ fees award for lack of justification; its Resolution denying reconsideration is dated...(Subscriber-Only)
Issues:
- Did the voluntary arbitrator exceed his jurisdiction by deciding the legality of Albarico’s dismissal when the Submission Agreement only specified entitlement to separation pay and sales commission?
- Could the voluntary arbitrator award backwages despite the Submission Agreement’s absence of an expli...(Subscriber-Only)
Ruling:
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Ratio:
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Doctrine:
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