G.R. No. 1092 : February 18, 1904
LUIS QUERIDO, plaintiff-appellee, vs. RAMON FLORENDO, ET AL., defendants-appellants.

FACTS:
This is a special proceeding for the probate of the will of the late Doña Leona Ochoa, initiated by Luis Querido. The court below allowed the will (Exhibit A) presented on August 20, 1901, as the last will and testament of Doña Leona Ochoa. The defendants-appellants, Ramon Florendo and Prudencio Espiritu, opposed the probate in their capacity as executors under bond of a prior will of the same testatrix that had already been allowed. They excepted to the decision and presented a bill of exceptions for appeal. The bill of exceptions submitted to the Supreme Court contained only the will, its translation, and the testimony of four witnesses (three of whom were attesting witnesses), along with the judgment, decision, bond, and the appellants’ exception.

ISSUE:
Whether the appeal from the probate court’s decision was properly taken and perfected before the Supreme Court.

RULING:
No. The Supreme Court held that the appeal was not properly taken. The case involved a special proceeding for the probate of a will. Under Section 781 of the Code of Civil Procedure, the proper mode of appeal in such cases requires the clerk of court, upon the filing of a notice of appeal and a bond, to transmit to the Supreme Court a certified copy of all the evidence taken at the hearing and the judgment, as well as the original will if there is any controversy concerning its identity. The appellants erroneously submitted only a bill of exceptions containing a limited record. Consequently, the Supreme Court found it impossible to review the appealed decision with the incomplete record before it. The Court did not rule on the merits of the probate. Instead, it ordered the clerk of court to comply with Section 781 by transmitting a certified copy of all the evidence, the judgment, and the original will (keeping a certified copy in the records) to the Supreme Court for proper review.