GR L 1089; (October, 1902) (Digest)
G.R. No. L-1089, October 31, 1902
Angel Gustilo, petitioner, vs. Estanislao Yusay, judge of the Court of First Instance of Negros Occidental, respondent.
FACTS:
The petitioner, Angel Gustilo, was the defendant in a civil case before the Court of First Instance of Negros Occidental. He demurred to the complaint, but the demurrer was overruled. The case proceeded to trial, resulting in a judgment against him on August 30. On September 5, he presented a proposed bill of exceptions. The respondent judge, however, failed to sign it. Gustilo now seeks relief under Article 499 of the Code of Civil Procedure. In his petition, he bases his exception solely on the fact that his demurrer was overruled.
ISSUE:
Whether the petitioner properly perfected his appeal and exception to the trial court’s order overruling his demurrer and to the judgment on the merits.
RULING:
No. The petition is denied.
1. Exception to the Order Overruling the Demurrer: Under Article 142 of the Code of Civil Procedure, an exception to an order overruling a demurrer must be taken “forthwith” upon notice of the order. The petitioner did not do so. He cannot wait until after the trial and final judgment to raise this exception for the first time by including it in a proposed bill of exceptions. The exception was therefore not timely taken and is deemed waived.
2. Exception to the Final Judgment: The proper method for presenting an exception to a final judgment for review by the Supreme Court is through a bill of exceptions signed by the judge and certified to the court, as provided under Article 143. Since the judge did not sign the proposed bill, the appeal was not perfected.
3. Indefiniteness of the Appeal: The petition and the proposed bill of exceptions were vague and indefinite. The court could not ascertain whether the petitioner intended to present any questions for review other than those related to the overruled demurrer.
Therefore, the petitioner failed to comply with the procedural requirements for perfecting an appeal and preserving his exceptions for appellate review.