GR L 11390; (March, 1918) (Digest)
G.R. No. L-11390; March 26, 1918
EL BANCO ESPAÑOL-FILIPINO, plaintiff-appellant, vs. VICENTE PALANCA, administrator of the estate of Engracio Palanca Tanquinyeng, defendant-appellant.
FACTS:
El Banco Español-Filipino filed an action to foreclose a mortgage executed by Engracio Palanca Tanquinyeng. The mortgagor, a non-resident, died in China. In the foreclosure proceedings, the court ordered notice by publication and the mailing of summons to the defendant’s last known address in Amoy, China. While publication was made, it was unclear if the clerk complied with the mailing order. The defendant did not appear, and a default judgment was rendered in 1908. The mortgaged property was sold at public auction and bought by the bank. The sale was confirmed by the court. About seven years later, in 1915, Vicente Palanca, as administrator of the mortgagor’s estate, filed a motion to set aside the default judgment and all subsequent proceedings, alleging the court never acquired jurisdiction over the defendant or the subject of the action due to lack of proper service of summons.
ISSUE:
Whether the motion to vacate the 1908 default judgment and subsequent foreclosure proceedings, filed seven years after the judgment became final, is a proper remedy to assail the judgment on the ground of lack of jurisdiction and denial of due process.
RULING:
The Supreme Court affirmed the lower court’s denial of the motion. The Court held that even assuming the judgment was void for lack of jurisdiction or due process, the proper remedy was not a motion in the original case filed after an inordinate lapse of time. The Code of Civil Procedure provides exclusive remedies for reopening a concluded litigation (specifically under sections 113 and 513), and the motion filed did not conform to these provisions. A judgment regular on its face cannot be attacked collaterally by a motion filed long after it became final. The appropriate remedy for a void judgment, after the time for appeal has lapsed, is an original independent action, such as an action to enjoin the judgment or to recover the property. The Court found no error in the lower court’s dismissal of the motion.