Case Digest (G.R. No. 171456)
Facts:
- Uniwide Holdings, Inc. (UHI) is the petitioner; Alexander M. Cruz is the respondent.
- UHI granted Cruz a five-year franchise to operate a "Uniwide Family Store" in Marikina City.
- Cruz was required to pay a monthly service fee of either P50,000 or three percent of his gross monthly purchases, whichever was higher, due within five days after each month.
- Any delay in payment incurred an interest charge of three percent per month.
- Cruz owed UHI and its affiliates, First Paragon Corporation (FPC) and Uniwide Sales Warehouse Club, Inc. (USWCI), a total of P1,358,531.89.
- In August 2002, FPC and USWCI assigned their rights over Cruz's accounts payable to UHI.
- Cruz failed to settle his debts despite a demand letter from UHI, leading UHI to file a complaint for collection in the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Parañaque (Civil Case No. 04-0278).
- Cruz filed a motion to dismiss the complaint, citing improper venue based on an exclusive jurisdiction clause in the Franchise Agreement.
- The RTC granted Cruz's motion to dismiss on December 12, 2005, prompting UHI to appeal to the Supreme Court.
Issue:
- (Unlock)
Ruling:
- The Supreme Court granted UHI's petition, set aside the RTC's December 12, 2005 Order, and remanded the...(Unlock)
Ratio:
- The Court noted that the general rule on venue allows actions to be filed where either party resides, as per Section 2, Rule 4 of the Rules of Court.
- Exclusive venue agreements do not prevent filing in other venues if there is a joinder of causes of action, one of which does not arise from the contract with the exclusive venue stipulation.
- The second and third causes of action were based on deeds of assignment from FPC and USWCI, which lacked any exclusive venue stipulation.
- The gener...continue reading
Case Digest (G.R. No. 171456)
Facts:
The case involves Uniwide Holdings, Inc. (UHI) as the petitioner and Alexander M. Cruz as the respondent. UHI, with its principal office in Parañaque City, entered into a Franchise Agreement with Cruz, granting him a five-year franchise to operate a "Uniwide Family Store" in Marikina City. According to Article 10.2 of the agreement, Cruz was obligated to pay UHI a monthly service fee of either P50,000 or three percent of his gross monthly purchases, whichever was higher, due within five days after the end of each month without the need for formal billing. Article 10.3 stipulated that any delay in payment would incur an interest charge of three percent per month. Cruz had outstanding obligations totaling P1,358,531.89 to UHI and its affiliated companies, First Paragon Corporation (FPC) and Uniwide Sales Warehouse Club, Inc. (USWCI). In August 2002, FPC and USWCI assigned their rights over Cruz's accounts payable to UHI. Despite receiving a demand letter from UHI, Cruz failed to settle his debts, prompting UHI to file a complaint for collection of a sum of money before the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Parañaque, which was docketed as Civil Case No. 04-0278. The complaint included multiple causes of action, primarily focusing on Cruz's failure to pay the monthly service fee and the amounts owed to FPC and USWCI. Cru...