GR 40133; (September, 1933) (Digest)
G.R. No. 40133; September 12, 1933
ROBERT B. VAN STAVERN, administrator of the estate of the late W.H. Schnupp, deceased, petitioner, vs. PEDRO MA. SISON, Judge of First Instance of Manila, and VICTORIANO YAMZON, respondents.
FACTS
Petitioner, as administrator of the estate of W.H. Schnupp, filed an original application for certiorari challenging the orders of the Court of First Instance of Manila approving an attorney’s lien in favor of respondent Victoriano Yamzon for P1,200. The lien was based on a written contract for attorney’s fees. The orders were issued shortly after Schnupp’s death and before an administrator was appointed. The contract provided for payment of P1,000 upon collection of the judgment, but the lien was enforced when only a portion was collected. After the administrator’s appointment and full collection of the judgment, a motion to vacate the orders was denied. The P1,200 included a separate P200 item, which was a sum Yamzon sent to Schnupp’s widow by telegram upon learning of the death.
ISSUE
Whether the trial court acted without or in excess of its jurisdiction in approving the attorney’s lien for (1) P1,000 and (2) P200.
RULING
1. As to the P1,000 item: The petition for certiorari is denied. Although the original orders were improvidently issued (as the motion for the lien should have been served on the administrator, the adverse party in interest, and not the original adverse party in the lawsuit), the lower court was not required to vacate them. The contract was in writing, services were fully performed, and the fee was not claimed to be excessive.
2. As to the P200 item: The petition for certiorari is granted. The P200 sent to the widow was not a necessary expense of litigation and could not properly be included in an attorney’s lien. The orders approving this item were issued in excess of jurisdiction and are null and void. Respondent Yamzon is ordered to repay P200 to the estate, without prejudice to any separate right of action he may have to recover it from the estate or the widow.
AI Generated by Armztrong.