GR L 58452; (September, 1982) (Digest)
G.R. No. L-58452 September 30, 1982
RAZA APPLIANCE CENTER, represented by Atty. MIGUEL RANILLO, petitioner, vs. HON. ROLANDO R. VILLARAZA, in his capacity as the Presiding Judge of Branch II of the City Court of Cagayan de Oro City and R. A. UY APPLIANCE CENTER, respondents.
FACTS
Petitioner Raza Appliance Center of Dipolog City issued a purchase order to respondent R.A. Uy Appliance Center of Cagayan de Oro City for a piano. Respondent honored the order, delivered the piano, and issued a corresponding delivery receipt. Upon Raza’s alleged refusal to pay, Uy filed a collection suit in the City Court of Cagayan de Oro City. Raza moved to dismiss the complaint for improper venue, arguing that under Section 1(b), Rule 4 of the Rules of Court, the action should be filed in Dipolog City, the defendant’s residence, since the purchase order (Annex A) did not specify the place of the contract’s execution.
Respondent Uy countered that venue was properly laid in Cagayan de Oro City. It argued that the purchase order was merely an offer, and the contract was perfected and executed only upon its acceptance and the delivery of the piano in Cagayan de Oro City, as evidenced by the delivery receipt (Annex B) issued there. The respondent court denied the motion to dismiss, prompting Raza to file this petition.
ISSUE
Whether the City Court of Cagayan de Oro City has jurisdiction over the collection case based on proper venue under Section 1(b), Rule 4 of the Rules of Court.
RULING
The Supreme Court ruled that venue was properly laid in Cagayan de Oro City and dismissed the petition. The legal logic centers on determining the “place of execution of the contract sued upon as appears therefrom” under the Rules, given that the parties had no written agreement on venue. The Court held that the contract sued upon was not the purchase order alone, which was merely an offer. Following Article 1475 of the Civil Code, a contract of sale is perfected at the moment there is a meeting of minds upon the thing and the price.
The meeting of minds occurred in Cagayan de Oro City when the vendor, Uy Appliance Center, received the purchase order, agreed to its terms, and acted upon it by delivering the piano. The consummation of the contract also happened there, as Raza’s representative received the piano and signed the delivery receipt in Cagayan de Oro City before assuming responsibility for transporting it to Dipolog. Therefore, the documents evidencing the transaction—the purchase order directed to Cagayan de Oro and the delivery receipt issued there—collectively show the place of execution to be Cagayan de Oro City. The respondent court did not act without jurisdiction or with grave abuse of discretion.