Case Digest (G.R. No. 92598)
Facts:
Purificacion Y. Manliguez, Antonina Y. Luib and Benjamin C. Ybanez v. The Court of Appeals, et al., G.R. No. 92598, May 20, 1994, Supreme Court Second Division, Puno, J., writing for the Court.The underlying controversy began with a decision by the Department of Labor and Employment (Region VII) ordering Inductocast Cebu, a partnership in Mandaue City, to pay its former employees P232,908.00. Pursuant to that judgment, the regional sheriff levied the buildings and improvements on Lot 109, Plan 11-5121-Amd., Tipolo, Mandaue City (the "Tipolo properties"), which were later sold at public auction to those former employees (the buyers-intervenors).
On May 25, 1988, petitioners filed a civil complaint in the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Cebu City entitled "Purification Y. Manliguez, Antonina Y. Luib and Benjamin C. Ybanez represented by Taciana C. Ybanez vs. Emilio Lomontad, Celerino Villahermosa, Register of Deeds of Mandaue City, Mandaue City Assessor and John Doe," seeking the lifting of the levy and annulment of the auction sale (Civil Case No. Ceb-6917). They alleged ownership of Lot 109, that they had leased the lot to Inductocast under a contract providing that improvements (except machinery/equipment) would vest in the lessor at termination, that the lease was terminated in November 1980 for nonpayment and that petitioners took possession thereafter, and that they only learned of the labor dispute and subsequent sale after the auction.
Atty. Danilo Pilapil (purported John Doe) and the buyers-intervenors moved to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction. The trial court initially denied the motions but, on reconsideration, granted the motion and dismissed Civil Case No. Ceb-6917 in an April 18, 1989 Order, holding the matter to be connected with a labor controversy and thus within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Department of Labor and Employment; the trial court relied on this Court’s decision in Pucan v. Bengzon.
Petitioners sought relief from the Court of Appeals by filing a petition for certiorari and preliminary injunction (docketed as CA-G.R. SP No. 18017). The Court of Appeals Special First Division (Justices Bonifacio A. Cacdac, Jr., Cecilio L. Pe, and Jesus M. Elbinias) denied the petition in a November 16, 1989 Decision, af...(Pro-only)
Issues:
- Did the Regional Trial Court have jurisdiction to hear Civil Case No. Ceb-6917, an action by third parties claiming ownership of property levied and sold pursuant to execution in a labor case?
- Was the petitioners’ action a prohibited collateral attack on the Department of Labor and Employment’s writ of execution such that jurisdiction was exclusively with DOLE unde...(Pro-only)
Ruling:
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Ratio:
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Doctrine:
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