GR 1326; (April, 1904) (Digest)
G.R. No. 1326 : April 9, 1904
FELIX FANLO AZNAR, petitioner, vs. W. F. NORRIS, judge of the Court of First Instance of Capiz, respondent.
FACTS:
On February 28, 1903, the Court of First Instance of Capiz rendered judgment in favor of the defendant (Rafael Rodriguez) in a civil case where Felix Fanlo Aznar was the plaintiff. The petitioner received notice of this decision in Manila on March 18, 1903. On March 25, 1903, he mailed a written notice of his exception to the decision to the clerk of the Capiz court. On April 2, 1903, he mailed a draft bill of exceptions to the same clerk. The respondent judge, W.F. Norris, refused to allow or sign the proposed bill of exceptions. The petitioner then filed a petition for a writ of mandamus with the Supreme Court to compel the judge to state his reasons for the refusal and to sign the bill. The respondent judge justified his refusal on the grounds that the proposed bill improperly included documents presented as evidence at the trial and that it was not a proper bill of exceptions in law.
ISSUE:
Whether the respondent judge acted correctly in refusing to allow and sign the petitioner’s proposed bill of exceptions.
RULING:
No. The Supreme Court granted the petition for mandamus, directing the respondent judge to certify a modified bill of exceptions. The Court ruled that:
1. The petitioner’s exception to the final judgment and the subsequent presentation of the bill of exceptions were made within the prescribed period and were procedurally valid. An exception to the final decision, even if it is the only exception taken during the entire trial, is sufficient to perfect the right to appeal by bill of exceptions.
2. The respondent judge’s other objections (regarding the attorney’s authority to represent the petitioner and the attempted service of notice on the petitioner’s attorney-in-fact) were without merit.
4. Consequently, the proposed bill of exceptions must be modified to include only the complaint, the answer, the court’s decision, the exception to that decision, and the certificate of its allowance. The respondent judge was ordered to certify the bill of exceptions in this modified form.