Case Digest (G.R. No. 165855)
Facts:
- Lavine Loungewear Mfg. Inc. (Lavine) is a corporation that manufactures and exports loungewear.
- Lavine procured six fire insurance contracts from various insurers, including Philippine Fire and Marine Insurance Corporation and others.
- A fire on August 1, 1998, in Pasig City destroyed two of Lavine's buildings and their supplies.
- Lavine filed claims with the insurers, resulting in a total payable amount of P112,245,324.34 as determined by the Office of the Insurance Commission.
- Most insurance policies were endorsed to Equitable PCI Bank due to loans taken by Lavine through Harish Ramnani.
- Insurers were willing to release payments to Equitable Bank, supported by Harish.
- On March 17, 2000, Lavine's board appointed Chandru Ramnani as president, who demanded direct payment to Lavine.
- Insurers insisted on paying Equitable Bank, leading Lavine to file a complaint on January 22, 2001, in the RTC of Pasig City.
- The RTC ruled in favor of intervenors claiming Harish was not validly elected and that Lavine owed Equitable Bank around P71 million.
- The RTC dismissed Lavine's complaint and ordered insurers to pay the intervenors damages.
- A motion for execution pending appeal was granted, leading to a writ of execution against QBE Insurance Philippines, Inc., which claimed to be separate from Rizal Surety.
Issue:
- (Unlock)
Ruling:
- The Supreme Court ruled that the RTC erred in ordering execution pending appeal against QBE Insurance Philippines, Inc. since it was not a party to the original case.
- The actions of the RTC and the sheriff in executing th...(Unlock)
Ratio:
- The Supreme Court emphasized that execution can only be issued against parties to a judgment; thus, the RTC's orders were null and void regarding QBE Insurance.
- The Court of Appeals correctly found that the sheriff's claims abo...continue reading
Case Digest (G.R. No. 165855)
Facts:
The case involves Lavine Loungewear Mfg. Inc. (Lavine), a corporation engaged in the manufacture and export of loungewear, which procured six fire insurance contracts from various insurers, including Philippine Fire and Marine Insurance Corporation, Rizal Surety and Insurance Company, Tabacalera Insurance Company, First Lepanto-Taisho Insurance Corporation, Equitable Insurance Corporation, and Reliance Insurance Corporation. On August 1, 1998, a fire in Pasig City destroyed two of Lavine's buildings and the supplies stored within. Following the incident, Lavine filed claims with the insurers, and the Office of the Insurance Commission later determined that the total amount payable to Lavine was P112,245,324.34.
A dispute arose regarding the payment of these claims. Most of the insurance policies, except for the First Lepanto policy, had been endorsed to Equitable PCI Bank due to loans taken by Lavine through its representative, Harish Ramnani. The insurers were willing to release the payments to Equitable Bank, which Harish supported. However, on March 17, 2000, Lavine's board appointed Chandru Ramnani as president and designated him and Atty. Mario Aguinaldo as representatives to negotiate with the insurers. Chandru demanded that the payments be made directly to Lavine, but the insurers insisted on paying Equitable Bank. Consequently, Lavine filed a complaint on January 22, 2001, against the insurers and the bank in the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Pasig City, seeking to restrain the insurers from paying Equitable Bank and to direct them to pay Lavine instead.
The case was assigned to RTC Branch 71, presided over by Judge Celso D. Laviña. Harish and other petitioners, claiming to be ...