G.R. No. L-8788; November 19, 1915
ESTEBAN GASATAYA, plaintiff-appellee, vs. CHARLES J. FALLON, defendant-appellant.

FACTS:
Plaintiff Esteban Gasataya commenced an action in the Court of First Instance of Occidental Negros to rescind a contract of sale of real property and for damages. At the commencement of the action, the plaintiff applied for and obtained a writ of attachment against the property of the defendant, Charles J. Fallon, who subsequently filed an answer with a counterclaim for damages. Later, the plaintiff filed a motion to dismiss the action. The trial court, over the defendant’s protest, granted the dismissal but reserved to the defendant the right to commence a separate action for damages resulting from the attachment. The defendant appealed, contending that the trial court should have allowed him to present evidence on and recover such damages in the same proceeding, not in a future independent action.

ISSUE:
Whether, in an action where an attachment was issued at its commencement and the action is later dismissed at the plaintiff’s instance, the trial court should assess the damages resulting from the attachment in the same proceeding or reserve the defendant’s right to file a separate action for such damages.

RULING:
The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the appellant. The Court held that under Section 439 of the Code of Procedure in Civil Actions, a defendant who recovers judgment (which includes a dismissal of the plaintiff’s action) is entitled to have the damages sustained by reason of a wrongful attachment assessed “after summary hearing in the same action, on due notice.” The plaintiff, by moving to dismiss the action, effectively admitted that the attachment was wrongful or without sufficient cause. Consequently, the defendant had a right to present the question of damages in the same action, and it was the duty of the trial court to hear evidence on the alleged damages when the issue was properly raised. The case was remanded to the trial court to allow the defendant to present proof of damages in the same action. No costs were awarded.