This case has been cited 3 times or more.
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2014-10-20 |
VILLARAMA, JR., J. |
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| A "genuine issue of fact" is an issue "which requires the presentation of evidence as distinguished from a sham, fictitious, contrived or false claim. When the facts as pleaded appear uncontested or undisputed, then there is no real or genuine issue or question as to the facts, and summary judgment is called for. The party who moves for summary judgment has the burden of demonstrating clearly the absence of any genuine issue of fact, or that the issue posed in the complaint is patently unsubstantial so as not to constitute a genuine issue for trial. x x x When the facts as pleaded by the parties are disputed or contested, proceedings for summary judgment cannot take the place of trial."[32] | |||||
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2012-07-18 |
PERALTA, J. |
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| The situation became different, however, when respondent subsequently filed its Second Amended Complaint admitting therein that petitioners, indeed, made partial payments of P110,301.80 and P20,000.00. Nonetheless, respondent accounted for such payments by alleging that these were applied to petitioners' obligations which are separate and distinct from the sum of P259,809.50 being sought in the complaint. This allegation was not refuted by petitioners in their Answer to Second Amended Complaint. Rather, they simply insisted on their defense of partial payment while claiming lack of knowledge or information to form a belief as to the truth of respondent's allegation that they still owe the amount of P259,809.50 despite their payments of P110,301.80 and P20,000.00. It is settled that the rule authorizing an answer to the effect that the defendant has no knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to the truth of an averment and giving such answer the effect of a denial, does not apply where the fact as to which want of knowledge is asserted, is so plainly and necessarily within the defendant's knowledge that his averment of ignorance must be palpably untrue.[29] In the instant case, it is difficult to believe that petitioners do not know how their payment was applied. Instead of denying knowledge, petitioners could have easily asserted that their payments of P110,301.80 and P20,000.00 were applied to, and should have been deducted from, the sum sought to be recovered by respondent, but they did not, leading the court to no other conclusion than that these payments were indeed applied to their other debts to respondent leaving an outstanding obligation of P259,809.50. | |||||
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2012-07-02 |
PERALTA, J. |
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| It must be stressed that trial courts have limited authority to render summary judgments and may do so only when there is clearly no genuine issue as to any material fact.[25] As already stated, the burden of demonstrating clearly the absence of genuine issues of fact rests upon the movant, in this case First Leverage, and not upon Solid Builders who opposed the motion for summary judgment. Any doubt as to the propriety of the rendition of a summary judgment must thus be resolved against First Leverage. | |||||