G.R. No. 40054; September 14, 1933
LA GRANJA, INC., petitioner, vs. FELIX SAMSON, Judge of First Instance of Cagayan, CHUA BIAN, CHUA YU LEE and CHUA KI, respondents.

FACTS

Petitioner La Granja, Inc. filed a complaint for sum of money against the private respondents. Simultaneously, it applied for a writ of attachment, submitting an affidavit from its manager alleging that the defendants were disposing of their properties with intent to defraud creditors. The respondent judge required the petitioner to present evidence to substantiate the allegation before granting the attachment. The petitioner refused, contending it was not obliged to do so. The judge consequently dismissed the attachment petition.

ISSUE

Is the mere filing of a formally proper affidavit sufficient to compel a judge to issue a writ of attachment?

RULING

No. Under Section 426 of the Code of Civil Procedure, a judge shall grant an attachment when it is made to appear by affidavit that the statutory grounds exist. However, the affidavit must be sufficient to convince the court of the existence of those facts. The court has discretion to determine the sufficiency of the affidavit and may require additional evidence if not satisfied. The respondent judge acted within his sound discretion in requiring corroborative evidence. The petition for mandamus is denied.

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