Case Digest (G.R. No. 205630)
Facts:
Diana Barber, Rex Jimeno, Jacquelyn Beado, and Rochelle Tan v. Rolando Chua, G.R. No. 205630, January 12, 2021, the Supreme Court First Division, Zalameda, J., writing for the Court.On August 10, 2007, Rolando Chua (respondent) filed a complaint for ejectment of extended structures partly occupying a firewall, and for damage to property with prayers for moral and exemplary damages, in the Municipal Trial Court (MTC) of Cainta, Rizal (Civil Case No. MTC-1259). He alleged that his neighbor, Diana Barber, built a portion of her second floor on top of the firewall he had earlier constructed adjoining his lot. The complaint described the firewall’s installation in 1988, its long uncontested existence, and that during Barber’s 2007 second-floor construction her workers placed hollow blocks and iron grills atop respondent’s firewall, cut dowels, and caused damage and water leakage to his roof and interior.
Barber, Rex Jimeno, and Jaquelyn Beado (petitioners) moved to dismiss, arguing the MTC lacked subject-matter jurisdiction because the complaint allegedly did not raise loss of material or physical possession of land or building and thus was not an ejectment case under Rule 70; they contended the action should have been filed in the Regional Trial Court. They also challenged personal jurisdiction, asserting Barber was a nonresident U.S. citizen and that substituted service was improper because the return did not explain why personal service could not be effected.
In an August 4, 2009 Order the MTC dismissed the complaint for lack of jurisdiction, finding the complaint failed to allege stealth or tolerance and that removal of a permanent structure was not an ejectment matter. On January 24, 2011, Branch 74, Regional Trial Court (RTC), Antipolo City, reversed and remanded, holding the complaint sufficiently alleged forcible entry and that a firewall is an immovable under Article 415 of the Civil Code. The Court of Appeals (CA), in a Decision dated October 9, 2012 and Resolution dated January 28, 2013 (CA-G.R. SP No. 122303), affirmed the RTC, finding the complaint made out ejectment by showing petitioners’ constructi...(Subscriber-Only)
Issues:
- Was the service of summons by substituted service sufficient to vest the MTC (and the RTC on appeal) with jurisdiction over Diana Barber's person?
- Did the MTC have subject-matter jurisdiction to entertain Rolando Chua's complaint for ejectment based on alleged encroa...(Subscriber-Only)
Ruling:
- (Subscriber-Only)
Ratio:
- (Subscriber-Only)
Doctrine:
- (Subscriber-Only)