GR 43918; (August, 1935) (Digest)
G.R. No. 43918; August 17, 1935
JOSEFA BAJACAN, petitioner, vs. EMILIO PEÑA, Judge of First Instance of Nueva Ecija, TELESFORA TORRES and BASILIO DE LEON, respondents.
FACTS
Petitioner Josefa Bajacan filed a claim for P16,200 against the intestate estate of Pascual de Leon. The special administratrix did not oppose it, but respondents Telesfora Torres and Basilio de Leon, interested parties, objected and filed a counterclaim for P2,000. A committee of three commissioners was appointed. Two commissioners approved the claim and denied the counterclaim; one disapproved the claim. The commissioners filed their separate reports in the clerk’s office without notifying the petitioner or the respondents as required by law. Fifty-six days after the last report was filed, the respondents moved to appeal the approval of the claim. The court admitted the appeal. The petitioner sought to have the approval declared final and the appeal set aside, arguing it was filed out of time.
ISSUE
Was the appeal interposed by the respondents timely filed?
RULING
Yes, the appeal was timely. Under Section 694 of the Code of Civil Procedure, the commissioners have a duty to notify claimants (which includes both the person filing a claim and the person opposing it with a counterclaim) of the filing of their report. Since no such notice was given to the respondents, the 25-day period to perfect an appeal under Section 775 had not yet commenced to run. Therefore, the respondents’ appeal was not out of time. The court denied the petitioner’s remedy and upheld the admission of the appeal. The petitioner was given the right to bring an ordinary action within thirty days.
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