G.R. No. 45250 ; September 21, 1936
GERVASIA ENCARNACION and URBANO NAVARRO, petitioners, vs. THE PROVINCIAL SHERIFF OF RIZAL, FACUNDO SAN AGUSTIN, Justice of the Peace of San Pedro Makati, Rizal, and AYALA Y CIA., respondents.

FACTS

Petitioners were lessees of respondent Ayala y Cia. Ayala filed ejectment cases (for non-payment of rent) against petitioners in the justice of the peace court, which ruled in Ayala’s favor. The judgments became final. Writs of execution were issued, ordering petitioners to vacate and remove their houses. To stop this, petitioners filed a separate case in the Court of First Instance (CFI) for injunction against Ayala and the sheriff (but not the justice of the peace). The CFI dismissed the injunction case. Petitioners appealed the CFI dismissal to the Supreme Court (docketed as G.R. No. 45302 ). While that appeal was pending, the justice of the peace issued alias writs of execution. Petitioners then filed this petition for certiorari to annul those alias writs.

ISSUE

Whether the respondent justice of the peace acted with grave abuse of discretion in issuing the alias writs of execution while the petitioners’ appeal from the CFI’s dismissal of their injunction case was pending before the Supreme Court.

RULING

Yes. The Supreme Court granted the petition and set aside the alias writs of execution. The justice of the peace committed a grave abuse of discretion because allowing the executions to proceed would render the pending appeal ( G.R. No. 45302 ) a delusion and would deprive the Supreme Court of its jurisdiction to finally settle the rights of the parties. The remedy of certiorari is appropriate to prevent an irreparable wrong. The Court emphasized it was not ruling on the merits of the pending appeal but was maintaining the status quo to allow for a final determination of the parties’ rights.

AI Generated by Armztrong.