GR L 46046; (April, 1939) (Digest)
G.R. No. L-46046. April 21, 1939.
PROCOPIO GAQUIT, plaintiff-appellee, vs. DOROTEO CONUI, defendant-appellant.
FACTS
Procopio Gaquit filed a complaint for a sum of money (P122.68) against Doroteo Conui in the Justice of the Peace Court of Ormoc. After repeated postponements at the plaintiff’s instance, the court issued an order provisionally dismissing the case without prejudice. Gaquit appealed this order to the Court of First Instance (CFI) of Leyte. The CFI, without first resolving the issue of whether the provisional dismissal order was appealable, proceeded to try the case on the merits and rendered a judgment in favor of Gaquit. Conui appealed to the Supreme Court.
ISSUE
Whether the Court of First Instance had jurisdiction to take cognizance of the case and decide it on the merits upon the plaintiff’s appeal from a provisional order of dismissal issued by the justice of the peace court.
RULING
No. The Supreme Court reversed the CFI decision, declaring it null and void. The CFI, acting on an appeal from the justice of the peace, should have resolved the appeal itself—that is, whether the provisional dismissal was proper. By instead trying the case on the merits, the CFI exercised original jurisdiction. However, since the amount claimed was below P200, original jurisdiction belonged exclusively to the justice of the peace court under the applicable law. The CFI’s assumption of original jurisdiction was therefore invalid. The case was remanded to the CFI to resolve the appeal properly.
AI Generated by Armztrong.