G.R. No. 43027 - Agno River Gold Dredging Co., Inc. vs. De Leon

The issuance of a writ of injunction is an ancillary remedy aimed at securing the existing rights of a party involved in a pending case.
Courts have the discretion to issue such writs, but this discretion is limited to the grounds and procedures prescribed by law, specifically Section 164 of the Code of Civil Procedure.
The court's discretion should not be interfered with unless there is a clear abuse of that discretion.

In the present case, the remedy of a preliminary injunction was granted after a hearing where both parties presented evidence.
The court found sufficient justification for the issuance of the injunction based on the evidence presented.
In certiorari proceedings, the higher court should refrain from interfering with the lower court's exercise of discretion unless there is a clear indication of abuse.

The Agno Placer Mining Co. filed a civil case alleging ownership of 66 mining claims and sought a preliminary injunction against Agno River Gold Dredging Co., claiming interference with its rights.
The petitioner countered that it owned 26 mining claims and contested the sufficiency of the respondent's claims.
The respondent judge conducted a hearing, during which evidence was presented, leading to the issuance of a preliminary injunction against the petitioner.

The evidence presented during the hearing indicated that the respondent was in peaceful possession of its mining claims.
Testimony revealed that the petitioner’s employees were found panning for gold on the respondent's claims, which led to the involvement of law enforcement to remove them.
The petitioner had not established possession of the respondent's claims prior to 1934, and there was no record of work done on its claims from 1915 to 1933.

The petitioner argued that the respondent judge exceeded his discretion in issuing the preliminary injunction.
The court found this argument unsubstantiated, affirming that the issuance of the injunction was within the judge's sound discretion based on the evidence ...continue reading