GR 38952; (February, 1933) (Digest)
G.R. No. 38952 ; February 21, 1933
ESTEFANIA SILVESTRE, ET AL., petitioners, vs. LUIS P. TORRES, Judge of First Instance of Manila, and CRISPIN OBEN, respondents.
FACTS
In Civil Case No. 37327, the Court of First Instance of Manila ordered the defendants (petitioners Silvestre, et al.) to sell certain parcels of land to plaintiff Crispin Oben for a specified price, with the alternative option for the parties to agree on a new lease. The Supreme Court affirmed this judgment. On remand, respondent Judge Luis P. Torres issued amended writs of execution on June 15, 1932 and January 3, 1933. These orders directed: (1) the defendants to execute a deed of sale; (2) defendant Francisco Gabriel (in his personal capacity as mortgagee, though he was sued only as a judicial administrator) to execute a deed cancelling a mortgage on the property; and (3) imposed conditions on the release of the purchase price. Petitioners filed for certiorari, arguing the judge exceeded his jurisdiction by ordering acts not contained in the original judgment and by issuing orders against a person (Gabriel) not sued in his personal capacity.
ISSUE
Whether the respondent judge acted in excess of his jurisdiction in issuing the amended writs of execution, thereby making certiorari the proper remedy.
RULING
Yes, the respondent judge acted in excess of jurisdiction. The Supreme Court granted the petition for certiorari.
(1) The availability of an ordinary appeal does not automatically bar certiorari; the appeal must also be an “adequate remedy”—one that is equally beneficial, speedy, and sufficient to promptly relieve the petitioner from the injurious effects of the order. Here, certiorari was the adequate remedy.
(2) The court exceeded its jurisdiction by ordering Francisco Gabriel, in his personal capacity as mortgagee, to cancel a mortgage. Gabriel was sued only as the judicial administrator of an estate, not personally. The mortgage itself was not the subject of the litigation. A court cannot compel a person not a party to the case in his personal capacity to perform such an act.
(3) Consequently, the orders dated June 15, 1932 and January 3, 1933 were set aside, except for the part requiring petitioners to execute a deed of sale of the property in favor of Oben free from all liens and encumbrances.
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