G.R. No. L-28346 June 29, 1968
URDANETA RURAL BANK, plaintiff-appellant, vs. FELIX SAN JUAN, ET AL., defendants-appellees.

FACTS

The Urdaneta Rural Bank filed an action in the Court of First Instance of Pangasinan to annul a writ of execution issued by a branch of that court (Branch V, presided by Judge Amado S. Santiago) in civil case U-902 and to recover damages. The bank claimed the writ was issued without authority because it had taken an appeal from the judgment in that case. The defendants were the judgment creditors (spouses San Juan), the judge, the clerk of court, and the deputy sheriff. The trial court dismissed the complaint on the ground that it had no power to annul the orders of a coordinate branch. The bank appealed. The record shows that in civil case U-902, Branch V rendered judgment against the bank. On December 20, 1966, the court ordered execution upon the filing of a bond, even before the appeal period expired. The bank appealed to the Court of Appeals (CA-G.R. 39103) and moved to hold execution in abeyance, but the motion was denied. As the initial writ lapsed, the trial court ordered an alias writ on June 27, 1967, which the bank assails in this action. The defendants-appellees moved to dismiss the appeal as moot, citing a final resolution of the Court of Appeals dated February 27, 1968, which dismissed the bank’s appeal in CA-G.R. 39103 for failure to file its brief.

ISSUE

Whether the instant appeal should be dismissed.

RULING

Yes, the appeal is dismissed. The issue has become moot. With the dismissal of the bank’s appeal in the main case (CA-G.R. 39103), the decision in civil case U-902 has become final and executory. Consequently, the trial court’s power to execute its judgment is now beyond question. The bank’s claim for damages is merely incidental and dependent on a prior declaration that the writ is void, which declaration is no longer tenable. Furthermore, the appeal should be dismissed because the appellant’s brief was filed out of time—25 days after the last day for filing.