This case has been cited 2 times or more.
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2007-10-05 |
SANDOVAL-GUTIERREZ, J. |
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| Rule 9, Section 1 of the 1997 Rules of Civil Procedure states that defenses and objections not pleaded either in a motion to dismiss or in the answer are deemed waived. The court may only dismiss an action motu proprio in case of lack of jurisdiction over the subject matter, litis pendentia, res judicata and prescription. Therefore, the trial court in this case erred when it dismissed the petition motu proprio. It should have waited for a motion to dismiss or a responsive pleading from respondent, raising the objection or affirmative defense of improper venue, before dismissing the petition. In the instant case, respondent, despite proper service of summons, failed to file an answer and was thus declared in default by the trial court. Verily, having been declared in default, he lost his standing in court and his right to adduce evidence and present his defense,[11] including his right to question the propriety of the venue of the action. | |||||
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2006-10-30 |
TINGA, J. |
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| In Rural Bank of Sta. Catalina v. Land Bank of the Philippines,[39] the Court, through Justice Callejo, Sr., again provided a comprehensive restatement of the remedies of the defending party declared in default, which we adopt for purposes of this decision: It bears stressing that a defending party declared in default loses his standing in court and his right to adduce evidence and to present his defense. He, however, has the right to appeal from the judgment by default and assail said judgment on the ground, inter alia, that the amount of the judgment is excessive or is different in kind from that prayed for, or that the plaintiff failed to prove the material allegations of his complaint, or that the decision is contrary to law. Such party declared in default is proscribed from seeking a modification or reversal of the assailed decision on the basis of the evidence submitted by him in the Court of Appeals, for if it were otherwise, he would thereby be allowed to regain his right to adduce evidence, a right which he lost in the trial court when he was declared in default, and which he failed to have vacated. In this case, the petitioner sought the modification of the decision of the trial court based on the evidence submitted by it only in the Court of Appeals.[40] If it cannot be made any clearer, we hold that a defendant party declared in default retains the right to appeal from the judgment by default on the ground that the plaintiff failed to prove the material allegations of the complaint, or that the decision is contrary to law, even without need of the prior filing of a motion to set aside the order of default. We reaffirm that the Lim Toco doctrine, denying such right to appeal unless the order of default has been set aside, was no longer controlling in this jurisdiction upon the effectivity of the 1964 Rules of Court, and up to this day. | |||||