G.R. No. 126258 July 8, 1999
TALSAN ENTERPRISES, INC., FRANCISCO P. SAN DIEGO, VICTOR RAMOGA and BONIFACIO TALPLACIDO, petitioners, vs. BALIWAG TRANSIT, INC. and ANGELES RAMOS, respondents.

FACTS

Petitioners filed a civil complaint for damages against respondents Baliwag Transit, Inc. and its driver, Angeles Ramos, arising from a vehicular collision. The sheriff served the summons for the corporation upon Baby Cansino, a cashier at a Baliwag bus station in Caloocan City, who received the documents but refused to sign the original summons. For respondent Ramos, the sheriff resorted to substituted service without a prior attempt at personal service. The trial court declared respondents in default for failure to answer and rendered a judgment by default, awarding various damages to petitioners.
Respondents moved for reconsideration, arguing the trial court never acquired jurisdiction due to improper service of summons. They contended Cansino was a mere cash receiving clerk, not a corporate agent authorized to receive summons, and that substituted service on Ramos was invalid. Without resolving the motion, the trial court proceeded to render its decision. Respondents then appealed to the Court of Appeals, which annulled the default judgment. The CA ruled that service upon Cansino was insufficient as she was not an agent under the rules, and that substituted service on Ramos was improper, thus voiding the trial court’s jurisdiction.

ISSUE

The core issues were: (1) whether there was valid service of summons upon the corporate respondent and the individual driver, and (2) whether respondents properly appealed the default judgment instead of filing a motion for new trial.

RULING

The Supreme Court ruled partially for petitioners. Regarding respondent Ramos, the service was invalid. For actions in personam, personal service is primary. Substituted service is allowed only if the defendant cannot be promptly served personally. The sheriff’s immediate resort to substituted service without attempting personal service first was a fatal violation of Rule 14. Consequently, the trial court did not acquire jurisdiction over Ramos, rendering the judgment against him null and void.
Conversely, service upon Baliwag Transit through Cashier Baby Cansino was valid. Under Section 13, Rule 14 of the Rules of Court, service upon a corporation may be made on its president, manager, secretary, cashier, agent, or any director. The term “cashier” is explicitly listed. The Court held that Cansino, by virtue of her official designation as cashier, was a proper person to receive summons regardless of her specific rank or integration with management. Her affidavit claiming she was not the cashier but merely a cash receiving clerk was deemed a mere clarification of title that did not negate her capacity as a receiving officer under the rule. Therefore, the trial court validly acquired jurisdiction over Baliwag Transit.
On the procedural issue, the Court held that an appeal from a judgment by default was the correct remedy, not a motion for new trial. A default judgment is an adjudication on the merits and is thus directly appealable under the rules. The case was remanded to the trial court for further proceedings only against Baliwag Transit, Inc., consistent with the ruling on valid service.