Case Digest (G.R. No. L-58321)
Facts:
Jose V. Panes v. Court of Appeals, Judge Filomeno Gapultos, in his capacity as Presiding Judge of the CFI of South Cotabato, Branch II, and Pablo Abandonio, G.R. No. 58321, January 31, 1983, the Supreme Court First Division, Melencio‑Herrera, J., writing for the Court. This is an appeal by certiorari from a Resolution of the Court of Appeals dated January 30, 1981, dismissing a petition for review for being filed out of time, and from the denial of petitioner’s motion for reconsideration dated May 22, 1981.The dispute began in the Municipal Court of Banga, South Cotabato (Civil Case No. 130), where a judgment for forcible entry and damages with writ of preliminary injunction was rendered in favor of Jose V. Panes. The adverse party, Pablo Abandonio, appealed to the Court of First Instance (CFI) of South Cotabato, Branch II (Civil Case No. 311), which reversed the municipal court decision. Petitioner received a copy of the CFI decision on September 19, 1980; his motion for reconsideration in the CFI was denied.
Within the thirty‑day reglementary period, on December 4, 1980, petitioner filed by registered mail a Motion for Extension of thirty days to file his petition for review with the Court of Appeals; the motion was received by that Court on December 18, 1980. On January 5, 1981 the Acting Clerk of Court of the Court of Appeals sent petitioner’s counsel a registered letter advising that the motion had been received without the necessary docketing and legal research fund fees and that the petition would be held in abeyance pending payment. Before receiving that letter (and on January 8, 1981, the thirtieth day of the requested extension), petitioner filed, by registered mail, the Petition for Review accompanied by payment (postal money order) of P53.00 representing the docket and legal research fund fees.
On January 30, 1981 the Court of Appeals issued the challenged Resolution dismissing the petition on the ground that, because the filing fees were deemed paid on January 8, 1981, the Motion for Extension was filed beyond the period sought to be extended and, consequently, the petition for review was filed out of time and the CFI judgment had become final. Petitioner’s motion for reconsideration was denied by the Court of Appeals on May 22, 1981, which held that once the appeal period has expired the court loses jurisdiction. The Court of Appeals relied on Ago Timber Corporation v. Ruiz...(Subscriber-Only)
Issues:
- Did the Court of Appeals commit grave abuse of discretion in dismissing the petition for review as filed out of time where docketing fees were paid only upon filing of the petition within the extended period requested?
- Is failure to pay docketing fees at the time of filing a mandatory ground for dismissal, or is the Court’s power to dismiss directory and subje...(Subscriber-Only)
Ruling:
- (Subscriber-Only)
Ratio:
- (Subscriber-Only)
Doctrine:
- (Subscriber-Only)