Case Digest (G.R. No. 189871)
Facts:
Nacar v. Gallery Frames and/or Felipe Bordey, Jr., G.R. No. 189871, August 13, 2013, the Supreme Court En Banc, Peralta, J., writing for the Court. Petitioner Dario Nacar sued respondents Gallery Frames and Felipe Bordey, Jr. for constructive dismissal before the Labor Arbiter (NLRC Arbitration Branch), docketed NLRC NCR Case No. 01-00519-97. On October 15, 1998 the Labor Arbiter found unlawful dismissal and awarded separation pay and backwages computed only up to the promulgation of the decision, amounting to P158,919.92, with a full dispositive paragraph ordering payment and dismissing other claims.Respondents appealed to the NLRC, which on February 29, 2000 affirmed the Labor Arbiter; their motion for reconsideration was denied. They then filed a petition for certiorari to the Court of Appeals, which dismissed the petition (Aug. 24, 2000) and denied reconsideration (May 8, 2001). Respondents elevated the case to the Supreme Court (G.R. No. 151332), which denied the petition on April 17, 2002; an Entry of Judgment certified finality on May 27, 2002. The case was referred back for execution.
During execution proceedings petitioner sought recomputation of awards to run to finality (May 27, 2002). The NLRC Computation Unit first recomputed the award to P471,320.31; writs of execution were issued and motions to quash were denied. Subsequent NLRC action (June 30, 2003) granted respondents’ appeal and ordered recomputation, and a later recomputation reduced the award to P147,560.19, which petitioner received upon issuance of an Alias Writ in January 2003. Petitioner later sought further recomputation to include accrued interest; the Labor Arbiter allowed only a small additional sum (May 10, 2005), and the NLRC denied petitioner’s administrative appeals (Sept. 27, 2006; Jan. 31, 2007). Petitioner then filed a Rule 45 petition for review on certiorari to the Court of Appeals (CA-G.R. SP N...(Subscriber-Only)
Issues:
- Is a recomputation of backwages and separation pay to the date a judgment becomes final and executory permissible during execution where the Labor Arbiter’s original decision contained an itemized computation limited to the date of promulgation, or does such recomputation violate the immutability of a final judgment?
- Are legal interests recoverable on the monetary awards, and if so, what rate applies and from whi...(Subscriber-Only)
Ruling:
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Ratio:
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Doctrine:
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