Case Digest (G.R. No. L-1329)
Facts:
Ramcar, Incorporated v. Dionisio De Leon, G.R. No. L-1329, May 15, 1947, the Supreme Court En Banc, Perfecto, J., writing for the Court.Petitioner Ramcar, Incorporated (plaintiff and offended party) brought a civil action for damages on December 26, 1946 in the Court of First Instance of Manila against defendants Daniel Francisco, Ulysses S. Tread, Jr., and Antonio Lloret, alleging the theft and dismantling of one of petitioner’s taxicabs and praying among other reliefs for the issuance of a writ of attachment against the defendants’ properties. Two days later, on December 28, 1946, an information for theft based on substantially the same facts was filed in the same court against the same persons.
After petitioner filed a bond in the amount of P5,000, a writ of attachment issued on January 2, 1947. Thereafter, Daniel Francisco moved to dismiss the civil complaint and to set aside the attachment (petition dated January 14); Ulysses S. Tread, Jr. moved (January 27) to suspend the time to answer and to dissolve the attachment. On January 30, 1947 the respondent judge denied Francisco’s motion to dismiss but set aside the attachment as to him; on February 3, 1947 the judge granted the motion of Tread and set aside the attachment as to him; on February 20, 1947 the judge denied petitioner’s motion for reconsideration.
Petitioner filed an original petition in this Court (certiorari and mandamus) seeking to nullify the trial court’s orders of January 30 and February 3, 1947, and to have the writ of attachment of January 2, 1947 declared valid and in force. The trial judge had grounded his rulings on his reading of Rule 107, Section 1(c) of the Rules of Court, which he interpreted to mean that once a criminal action arising from the same offense is commenced no civil action arising from that offense can be prosecuted and any pending civil action must...(Pro-only)
Issues:
- After a criminal action is instituted, does Rule 107, Sec. 1(c) bar the civil court from issuing preliminary and ancillary writs (such as a writ of attachment) in a civil action arising from the same offense?
- Should the trial court orders of January 30 and February 3, 1947 setting aside the writ of attachment be annulled and the writ of ...(Pro-only)
Ruling:
- (Pro-only)
Ratio:
- (Pro-only)
Doctrine:
- (Pro-only)