Case Digest (G.R. No. 140975)
Facts:
The case is Ofelia Hernando Bagunu v. Pastora Piedad, G.R. No. 140975, December 08, 2000, Supreme Court Third Division, Vitug, J., writing for the Court. Petitioner Ofelia Hernando Bagunu moved on August 28, 1995 to intervene in Special Proceedings No. 3652 (In the Matter of the Intestate Proceedings of the Estate of Augusto H. Piedad) before the Regional Trial Court, Branch 117, Pasay City, claiming a right to share in the decedent’s estate and alleging procedural defects in the intestate proceedings. She contended there was incomplete publication of the notice of hearing, lack of personal notice to heirs and creditors, and irregular disbursements by the estate administrator; the trial court denied her motion to intervene.Dissatisfied, petitioner appealed to the Court of Appeals. Pastora Piedad (respondent) moved to dismiss the appeal on the ground that the issues raised were pure questions of law and, under Section 2(c) of Rule 41 of the 1997 Revised Rules on Civil Procedure together with Rule 45 and Court Circular 2-90, should have been brought to the Supreme Court by petition for review on certiorari. The Court of Appeals, through Justice Eugenio S. Labitoria, dismissed the appeal, holding that the operative facts were undisputed and that the questions presented were legal in nature rather than factual; it reasoned that resolution did not require review of evidence or witness credibility.
Petitioner filed a petition for review on certiorari (Rule 45) to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court found no reversible error in the Court of Appeals’ disposition but proceeded to address the substantive question: whether a collateral relative in the fifth civil degree (petitioner) may inherit ab intestato together with a collateral relative in the third civil degree (respondent) under the Civi...(Subscriber-Only)
Issues:
- Did the Court of Appeals correctly dismiss the appeal on the ground that the issues raised were pure questions of law and thus cognizable only by the Supreme Court under Rule 45?
- Substantively, can petitioner, a collateral relative of the fifth civil degree, inherit ab intestato alongside respondent, a collateral relative of the third civil degree, or does the rule of proximity ex...(Subscriber-Only)
Ruling:
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Ratio:
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Doctrine:
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