GR L 1878; (March, 1949) (Digest)
G.R. No. L-1878; March 9, 1949
MAMERTO RAMIREZ, ET AL., petitioner, vs. FIDEL IBAÑEZ, Judge of the Court of First Instance of Laguna, ET AL., respondents.
FACTS
Petitioners, landowners and tenants in San Pedro, Laguna, filed a petition for prohibition and injunction against the respondent judge and a receiver (Segundo Mastrili) appointed in Civil Case No. 9039. The receiver, assisted by military police, prevented petitioners from harvesting their palay crops on lands claimed by N.V. Sinclair (acting under “El Colegio de San Jose”). Petitioners argued they were not parties to Civil Case No. 9039 (an action to recover back rents and revive a judgment in a prior case, Civil Case No. 6663) and that the receivership deprived them of their crops without due process. They also raised issues regarding the validity of the claim under old Spanish laws and the moratorium. The parties entered a temporary agreement during the hearing regarding crop distribution, but the receiver allegedly backed out. The Supreme Court initially denied a preliminary injunction, and the case was submitted for decision on the merits.
ISSUE
Whether the Supreme Court should grant the writs of prohibition and injunction to restrain the receivership and allow petitioners to harvest their crops, given their claim of not being parties to the underlying case.
RULING
The petition is dismissed. The majority held that petitioners must first await the respondent judge’s resolution on pending matters, including whether petitioners are privies to the defendants in the related cases and the identity of the lands involved. The Court found the remedy premature, as the lower court had given petitioners an opportunity to be heard on these questions. The dissent argued that the receivership was unjustly depriving petitioners of their livelihood and that the receiver acted in bad faith. All pending incidental petitions were denied.
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