G.R. No. 31067 - Manila Publishing Co. vs. Bernabe

The plaintiff is Manila Publishing Company, a domestic corporation based in Manila.
The defendants include Jose Bernabe, the Judge of the Municipal Court of Manila; Yap Sulan, a resident; and Jose Casimiro, the Sheriff of the City of Manila.
The case originated from a trial involving Yap Sulan against Manila Publishing Company and the Sheriff, which took place on December 5, 1927.
The judge reserved his decision after the trial, rendering it on December 12, 1927, with the plaintiff receiving notice of the judgment on December 20, 1927.

The plaintiff filed a notice of appeal on December 29, 1927, which was nine days after receiving notice of the judgment and seventeen days after the judgment was rendered.
Yap Sulan filed a motion to dismiss the appeal, arguing it was not perfected within the legally prescribed time.
The municipal judge dismissed the appeal on February 2, 1928, leading the plaintiff to seek a preliminary injunction against the execution of the judgment.

The plaintiff's petition was met with a demurrer from the defendants, claiming insufficient facts to constitute a cause of action.
The lower court overruled the demurrer on March 31, 1928, and set a hearing for May 21, 1928, where it ultimately ruled against the plaintiff and dissolved the injunction.
The plaintiff appealed, assigning errors related to the reversal of the previous decision and the claim that the appeal was not perfected in time.

The court analyzed the relevant sections of the Code of Civil Procedure regarding the timing of appeals.
It was established that the judgment must be appealed within fifteen days from the date of its entry, not from the date of notification.
The court referenced a previous case, Agcaoili vs. Rivera, affirming that the fifteen-day period for appeal begins from the entry of judgment.

The court emphasized the responsibility of attorneys to actively protect their clients' interests and not rely solely on court clerks for information regarding judgments.
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