Facts:

• A complaint was filed on August 11, 2003, against Judge Agustin S. Dizon and Atty. Reza M. Casila-Derayunan.
• The case centered on their failure to send records of Civil Case No. Q-95-24507 to the Court of Appeals within 30 days after the trial court's decision on July 22, 2002.
• Plaintiffs Eusebio Osorio, Danilo, and Rosita Amor were adversely affected by the trial court's ruling.
• Atty. Florentino L. Quendangan filed a notice of appeal on August 26, 2002, which Judge Dizon acknowledged on September 25, 2002.
• The required records were not forwarded to the appellate court.
• Danilo Amor filed a motion to discharge his counsel and withdraw the notice of appeal on May 23, 2003, which was granted by Judge Dizon on June 4, 2003.
• Amor later sought to retract his motion.
• The records were eventually sent to the Court of Appeals on November 13, 2003, after an eleven-month delay, attributed to negligence and bias by Judge Dizon and Atty. Casila-Derayunan.

Issue:

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Ruling:

• Atty. Reza M. Casila-Derayunan was found negligent and fined P1,000.
• Judge Agustin S. Dizon was admonished for a lack of due care but was not held liable for grave misconduct.
• The Court concluded that whil...(Unlock)

Ratio:

• The Court highlighted the necessity of timely record transmission for effective case resolution, referencing Section 10 of Rule 41 of the Rules of Court.
• Atty. Casila-Derayunan's failure to transmit records within the 30-day timeframe was deemed negligent, warranting disciplinary action, although her heavy workload was considered a mitigating factor.
• Judge Dizon's supervisory responsibilities were acknowledged, but it was unreasonable to expect him to constantly monitor his staff's performance.
• His decision to gr...continue reading