Case Summary (G.R. No. 163786)
Factual and Procedural Background
Times employed members of TEU and challenged TEU’s registration. TEU struck twice in 1997 over alleged unfair labor practices and attempted rival union formation. The first strike was ended by a DOLE return-to-work order and compulsory arbitration; TEU was certified as bargaining agent. During negotiations, Times implemented a retrenchment program and later terminated strikers for participating in what it deemed an illegal strike.
Transfer of Assets to Mencorp
In December 1997, Mencorp (controlled by Times’ majority shareholder’s family) acquired Times’ Certificates of Public Convenience and bus units. Respondents alleged the sale was simulated to evade labor liabilities.
NLRC’s Initial Decisions and Appeals
The NLRC (May 21, 1998) held the first strike legal and the second illegal, dismissing 23 strikers. Both Times and TEU appealed; CA affirmed the NLRC on November 17, 2000. Times elevated its appeal to the Supreme Court (G.R. Nos. 148500-01), now pending.
Subsequent Labor Cases and Labor Arbiter Decision
After Times’ closure, retrenched employees filed illegal dismissal and unfair labor practice cases. Times’ motion to dismiss led to archival of the complaints, which respondents then refiled before the NCR Arbitration Branch, impleading Mencorp and the Mendozas. On January 31, 2002, Labor Arbiter Hernandez found unfair labor practices, simulated sale, and ordered reinstatement, back wages (totaling over ₱43 million), separation pay, moral/exemplary damages, and attorney’s fees.
Appeal Bond Dispute at NLRC
Times, Mencorp, and the Mendozas appealed and sought bond reduction. The NLRC initially denied the motion and required full bond within ten days, which was not complied with; a subsequent reconsideration was granted only after undue delay and partial bond posting, leading to a remand of the cases back to the arbitration branch on September 17, 2002.
Court of Appeals Decision
On January 30, 2004, the CA granted respondents’ petition for certiorari, finding the NLRC committed grave abuse by (1) not dismissing for litis pendens, (2) allowing imperfect appeals to proceed, (3) remanding despite sufficient evidence, (4) denying illegal dismissal findings, and (5) piercing the corporate veil to hold Mencorp and the Mendozas liable. The CA reinstated the Arbiter’s January 2002 decision.
Supreme Court on Litis Pendens
The Court held there was no litis pendens: the case concerned retrenchment validity and dismissals, distinct from the pending appeal on the legality of the second strike and its general employment consequences in G.R. Nos. 148500-01.
Supreme Court on Appeal Bond Requirements
Under Labor Code Art. 223 and NLRC Rules VI, strict compliance with bond posting is jurisdictional. The NLRC’s protracted handling of bond reduction motions constituted grave abuse. D
...continue readingCase Syllabus (G.R. No. 163786)
Facts
- Times Transportation Company, Inc. (Times) was a land‐transportation corporation whose employees organized the Times Employees Union (TEU) and secured a certificate of union registration prior to the company’s closure in 1997.
- On March 3–12, 1997, TEU held its first strike protesting Times’s alleged formation of a rival union and the dismissal of active union members.
- Labor Secretary Quisumbing referred the controversy to the NLRC for compulsory arbitration (NLRC NCR CC-000134-97) and issued a return‐to‐work order on March 10, 1997.
- A certification election on July 1, 1997 recognized TEU as the sole bargaining agent; Times refused collective bargaining pending finality of the Med-Arbiter’s certification‐election ruling.
- TEU served a Notice of Strike on August 8, 1997. While conciliation/mediation proceeded, Times implemented a retrenchment program, issuing notices effective October 16, 1997, to certain employees (including respondents).
- On October 17, 1997, TEU held a vote to strike over alleged unfair labor practices; Times dismissed 123 participants by notices dated October 26 and November 24, 1997.
- Secretary Quisumbing issued a second return-to-work order on November 17, 1997; although the strike ended, respondents were not reinstated.
- On December 12, 1997, Mencorp Transport Systems, Inc. (Mencorp)—controlled by Mrs. Virginia Mendoza, daughter of Times’s majority stockholder—acquired Times’s certificates of public convenience and many bus units via deeds of sale.
Procedural History
- May 21, 1998: NLRC rendered a decision declaring the first strike legal, the second illegal, and dismissing 23 participants; motion to implead Mencorp and family denied.
- November 17, 2000: Court of Appeals (CA) affirmed the NLRC decision. Times filed a petition for certiorari (G.R. Nos. 148500-01) before the Supreme Court; TEU’s petition was denied.
- Late 1998: Retrenched employees filed new illegal‐dismissal, money‐claims, and unfair‐labor-practice cases before the San Fernando Arbitration Branch; Times moved to dismiss and the cases were archived pending G.R. Nos. 148500-01.
- Complainants withdrew and re-filed in the NCR Arbitration Branch, impleading Mencorp and the Mendozas; Times raised litis pendencia