G.R. No. 2342, February 10, 1905
CONCEPCION CALVO, plaintiff-appellee, vs. ANGELES O. DE GUTIERREZ, ET AL., defendants-appellants.

FACTS:
The defendants-appellants filed a motion for a stay of execution pending their appeal from the judgment of the Court of First Instance. The trial judge had previously ordered that execution would not be stayed unless the appellants filed a bond to secure compliance with the final judgment. This order was issued pursuant to Section 144 of the Code of Civil Procedure, which vests discretion in the trial judge to grant or deny such stays.

ISSUE:
Whether the Supreme Court should interfere with the trial judge’s discretionary order denying a stay of execution unless a bond is filed.

RULING:
The Supreme Court denied the motion. It held that the authority to grant stays of execution pending appeal is a discretionary power conferred by statute upon the judge of the Court of First Instance. The appellate court will not interfere with or inquire into the exercise of this discretion unless it is alleged and proven that: (1) there has been an abuse or excess of authority by the trial judge, or (2) conditions have changed so substantially since the issuance of the order as to necessitate intervention to protect the parties’ interests against unanticipated contingencies. Since the appellants’ motion alleged no such grounds, the Supreme Court found no basis to modify the trial court’s order. The motion was denied with costs against the appellants.