Case Digest (G.R. No. 222821)
Facts:
North Greenhills Association, Inc. v. Atty. Narciso Morales, G.R. No. 222821, August 09, 2017, Supreme Court Second Division, Mendoza, J., writing for the Court. North Greenhills Association, Inc. (NGA) is the homeowners' association and owner/operator of McKinley Park in North Greenhills Subdivision; Atty. Narciso Morales is a resident whose house abuts the park and who maintained a personal side-door opening into the park.In June 2003 NGA began constructing a pavilion/kiosk in McKinley Park that included a public restroom built adjacent to the concrete wall separating the park from Atty. Morales' house. On July 23, 2003 Atty. Morales filed a complaint with the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB), docketed initially as HLURB Case No. NCRHOA-072303-309 (later referenced as HLURB Case No. HOA-A-050425-0014), alleging that he had enjoyed unhampered access through his side door to the park for 33 years and that the restroom and pavilion obstructed that access and constituted a nuisance.
The HLURB Arbiter conducted an ocular inspection and on February 16, 2005 issued a decision ordering removal of the pavilion and relocation of the common toilet so it would not be a nuisance, and directed removal of the obstruction to the complainant's side door. NGA appealed to the HLURB Board of Commissioners, which on November 22, 2007 modified the Arbiter's decision and ordered NGA to relocate the restroom away from residents' walls and not to block the complainant's side-door access. NGA appealed to the Office of the President (OP) in O.P. Case No. 08-1-004; on February 17, 2010 the OP affirmed the HLURB Board decision, and it denied NGA's reconsideration in an August 8, 2013 resolution.
NGA filed a petition for review with the Court of Appeals (CA) under Rule 43, which in a March 13, 2015 decision (CA-G.R. SP No. 131707) affirmed the OP. The CA found the restroom to be a nuisance per accidens on sanitary grounds and sustained the order to relocate it; it also dismissed NGA's counterclaim for unpaid association dues as permissive. NGA's motion for reconsideration before the CA was denied in a February 3, 2016 resolution.
NGA then filed a petition for review on certiorari under Rule 45 before the Supreme Court, with application for temporary restraining order and writ of preliminary injunctio...(Pro-only)
Issues:
- Did the HLURB have jurisdiction over Atty. Morales' complaint?
- Was the restroom constructed by NGA in McKinley Park a nuisance per accidens?
- Does NGA, as owner, have the right to block Atty. Morales' side access to the park?
- Was NGA's counterclaim for unpaid association dues a p...(Pro-only)
Ruling:
- (Pro-only)
Ratio:
- (Pro-only)
Doctrine:
- (Pro-only)