G.R. No. L-7644; March 24, 1913
SYDNEY COOMBS, plaintiff-appellee, vs. LOPE K. SANTOS, defendant-appellant.

FACTS

Defendant-appellant Lope K. Santos, as sheriff, seized property in the possession of plaintiff-appellee Sydney Coombs by virtue of an execution in a case involving Kuenzle & Streiff and George Cruickshank. Coombs demanded the property’s return and, upon refusal, filed an action for recovery and damages. Santos was served with the amended complaint on April 25, 1911, entered his appearance on May 4, but failed to answer. The trial court declared him in default on May 23. The next day, Santos filed a sworn motion to set aside the default judgment, citing that his office’s docket clerk, responsible for notifying counsel of pleading deadlines, had been absent from May 6 to 23 without leaving notice, causing counsel to miss the deadline. The trial court denied the motion. Santos appealed, assigning errors in the denial of his motion to annul the default and in the court’s jurisdiction over what he claimed was an action for recovery of real property.

ISSUE

Whether the trial court erred in denying Santos’s motion to set aside the default judgment.

RULING

Yes, the trial court erred, but conditionally. The Supreme Court held that a motion to set aside a default judgment must generally be accompanied by an affidavit showing a meritorious defense, except in cases where relief is demandable as of right (e.g., lack of jurisdiction, judgment taken before answer time expired, fraud). The Court found Santos’s excuse (the docket clerk’s absence) potentially constituted excusable neglect under Section 113 of the Code of Civil Procedure. However, his motion failed to include an affidavit of merits showing he had a valid defense on the merits. The Court thus set forth the universal rule requiring such an affidavit. The record was remanded to the trial court with instructions to allow Santos to file an affidavit of merits. The trial court would then determine whether to set aside the default based on that affidavit and the excuse provided. No costs were awarded.