G.R. No. 106973 June 17, 1993
MARIA L. LOPEZ, petitioner, vs. NORTHWEST AIRLINES, INC., and REGIONAL TRIAL COURT OF MAKATI, BRANCH 65, respondents.

FACTS

Petitioner Maria L. Lopez purchased a round-trip ticket from respondent Northwest Airlines, Inc. (NWA) for a flight from New York to Manila and back via Tokyo. Her confirmed return flight from Manila to New York on July 10, 1987, was canceled by NWA two days prior, and she was rescheduled for July 11, 1987. Lopez filed a complaint for damages against NWA before the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Makati, docketed as Civil Case No. 88-1014, alleging bad faith and breach of contract. NWA moved to dismiss the complaint based on lack of jurisdiction under Article 28(1) of the Warsaw Convention. The RTC (Branch 147) denied the motion. NWA filed a special civil action for certiorari with the Court of Appeals (CA-G.R. SP No. 16174), which was denied. NWA then filed a petition for review with the Supreme Court (G.R. No. 91393), which was dismissed in a Resolution dated March 21, 1990, and a motion for reconsideration was denied with finality on May 9, 1990. An entry of judgment was made on June 19, 1990. NWA subsequently filed its Answer, and the case was re-raffled to RTC Branch 65. Trial on the merits was conducted and concluded on January 15, 1992, after which the case was deemed submitted for decision. On July 10, 1992, NWA filed a second motion to dismiss, invoking the Supreme Court’s subsequent ruling in Santos III v. Northwest Orient Airlines (G.R. No. 101538, June 23, 1992), which upheld the jurisdictional provision of the Warsaw Convention. On August 31, 1992, the RTC (Branch 65) granted the motion and dismissed the case for lack of jurisdiction. Lopez filed the instant petition, arguing that the jurisdiction of the RTC had already been sustained with finality in G.R. No. 91393.

ISSUE

Whether the Regional Trial Court (Branch 65) committed grave abuse of discretion in dismissing Civil Case No. 88-1014 for lack of jurisdiction based on the subsequent ruling in Santos III v. Northwest Orient Airlines, despite the final and executory resolution in G.R. No. 91393 which had sustained the trial court’s jurisdiction over the same case.

RULING

Yes. The Supreme Court granted the petition, treating it as a special civil action for certiorari, and set aside the RTC’s order of dismissal. The Court held that the principle of “law of the case” applied. The final and executory Resolution in G.R. No. 91393, which sustained the denial of NWA’s first motion to dismiss and, by implication, affirmed the trial court’s jurisdiction, became the law of the case between the parties. The subsequent Santos decision could not retroactively oust the trial court of jurisdiction that had already been conclusively settled. Furthermore, NWA was estopped from raising the jurisdictional issue after having actively participated in the trial, presenting evidence, and only filing a second motion to dismiss after the case had been submitted for decision. Jurisdiction over the subject matter is determined by the allegations in the complaint and, once attached, continues until the final termination of the case. The trial court, having at least prima facie jurisdiction as sustained by the final resolution of the Supreme Court, had the authority to proceed to judgment.