This case has been cited 3 times or more.
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2015-03-11 |
REYES, J. |
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| As can be gleaned from the assailed orders, the RTC erred when it dismissed the case when the present rules state that the dismissal shall be limited only to the complaint. A dismissal of an action is different from a mere dismissal of the complaint. For this reason, since only the complaint and not the action is dismissed, the defendant in spite of said dismissal may still prosecute his counterclaim in the same action.[40] The case of Pinga v. Heirs of German Santiago[41] is quite instructive which this Court finds worth reiterating. In Pinga, the Court clearly stated that the dismissal of the complaint does not necessarily result to the dismissal of the counterclaim, abandoning the rulings in Metals Engineering Resources Corporation v. Court of Appeals,[42] International Container Terminal Services, Inc. v. Court of Appeals,[43] and BA Finance Corporation v. Co.[44] The Court held that: At present, even Section 2, concerning dismissals on motion of the plaintiff, now recognizes the right of the defendant to prosecute the counterclaim either in the same or separate action notwithstanding the dismissal of the complaint, and without regard as to the permissive or compulsory nature of the counterclaim. | |||||
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2007-08-14 |
CHICO-NAZARIO, J. |
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| In the cases of Metal Engineering Resources Corp. v. Court of Appeals,[50] International Container Terminal Services, Inc. v. Court of Appeals,[51] and BA Finance Corporation v. Co.,[52] the Court ruled that if the court does not have jurisdiction to entertain the main action of the case and dismisses the same, then the compulsory counterclaim, being ancillary to the principal controversy, must likewise be dismissed since no jurisdiction remained for any grant of relief under the counterclaim.[53] If we follow the aforesaid pronouncement of the Court in the cases mentioned above, the counterclaim of the herein petitioner being compulsory in nature must also be dismissed together with the Complaint. However, in the case of Pinga vs. Heirs of German Santiago,[54] the Court explicitly expressed that:Similarly, Justice Feria notes that "the present rule reaffirms the right of the defendant to move for the dismissal of the complaint and to prosecute his counterclaim, as stated in the separate opinion [of Justice Regalado in BA Finance]. Retired Court of Appeals Justice Hererra pronounces that the amendment to Section 3, Rule 17 [of the 1997 Revised Rules of Civil Procedure] settles that "nagging question "whether the dismissal of the complaint carries with it the dismissal of the counterclaim, and opines that by reason of the amendments, the rulings in Metals Engineering, International Container, and BA Finance "may be deemed abandoned." x x x. | |||||
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2006-06-30 |
TINGA, J. |
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| There is no doubt that under the 1964 Rules, the dismissal of a complaint due to the failure of the plaintiff to appear during pre-trial, as what had happened in Sta. Maria, fell within the coverage of Section 3, Rule 17. On the other hand, Section 2 was clearly limited in scope to those dismissals sustained at the instance of the plaintiff.[39] Nonetheless, by the early 1990s, jurisprudence was settling on a rule that compulsory counterclaims were necessarily terminated upon the dismissal of the complaint not only if such dismissal was upon motion of the plaintiff, but at the instance of the defendant as well. Two decisions from that period stand out in this regard, Metals Engineering Resources Corp. v. Court of Appeals [40] and International Container Terminal Services v. Court of Appeals.[41] | |||||