JURISDICTION

 Only the SC and Sandiganbayan are constitutionally-mandated Courts

 Delegated jurisdiction – grant of authority to inferior courts to hear and determine cadastral and land
registration cases under certain conditions
Special jurisdiction – power of inferior courts to hear and decide petitions for a writ of habeas corpus
and applications for bail in the absence of RTC judge
JURISDICTION VENUE
Authority to hear and determine a case Place where the case is to be heard or tried
Matter of substantive law Matter of procedural law
Establishes a relation between the court and the Establishes relation between plaintiff/defendant,
subject-matter or petitioner/respondent
Fixed by law and cannot be conferred by the May be conferred by act or agreement of the
parties parties

 Jurisdiction cannot be conferred by acquiescence of the court

 Questions of jurisdiction may be raised for the first time on appeal even if such issue was not raised
in the lower court (Xpn: estoppel)
 A party’s active participation in all stages of a case before the trial court, which includes invoking the
court’s authority to grant affirmative relief, effectively estops such party from later challenging the
jurisdiction of the said court (Tijam vs Sibonghanoy)
 WON the RTC should resolve a particular matter in the exercise of its general jurisdiction or in its
limited jurisdiction as a probate or land registration court is a procedural question
 Substantive law creates, defines and regulates rights, while remedial law prescribes the methods of
enforcing the rights or obtaining redress for their invasion

PRELIMINARY CONSIDERATIONS
 Cause of action – delict or wrongful act, determined by the allegations; right of action – right to
relief/sue, determined by substantive law
 Relief – the redress, protection, award or coercive measure which the plaintiff prays for
Remedy – procedure which may be availed of by plaintiff to obtain relief
 Admiralty jurisdiction regulates maritime matters and cases, such as contracts relating to the trade
and business of the sea and essentially maritime in character, like maritime services, transactions, or
casualties
 In determining jurisdiction, where the property involved is the only one where the decedent has
proprietary rights, is conjugal in nature, it is the total value of such conjugal property, and not only
the value of the share of the decedent therein, which should furnish the jurisdictional test

 RULE 1: GENERAL PROVISIONS

 As long as complaint was filed within the prescriptive period, claim is not barred even if summons was
served on the defendant after the prescriptive period
 GR – case is deemed filed only upon payment of docket fee. Xpn - court may allow payment of fee
within a reasonable time but not beyond the applicable prescriptive or reglementary period
 Party is allowed to make initial payment of filing fees corresponding to the estimated amount of the
claim subject to adjustment as to what may later be proved
 Docket fees are computed based on the amount of damages stated in the complaint
 Exceptions to doctrine of exhaustion of administrative remedies:
o Issue is purely legal, and nothing of administrative nature is to be and can be done
o Result is nullification of claim being asserted
o Controverted act is patently illegal or was performed without/in excess of jurisdiction
o Urgency of judicial intervention
o Violation of due process
o No plain, speedy, and adequate remedy
o Estoppel of the administrative agency
o Irreparable injury
o Unreasonableness
o Subject matter is private land in land case proceedings
o Exhaustion of administrative remedies has been rendered moot
 While the Rules are liberally construed, the provisions on reglementary periods and perfecting
appeals are strictly applied

RULE 3: PARTIES TO CIVIL ACTION

 If the suit is not brought in the name of or against the real party in interest, a motion to dismiss
may be filed on the ground that the complaint states no cause of action (Sec. 1[g], Rule 16)
 Pro-forma parties – those who are required to be joined as co-parties in suits as may be provided
by law or procedure (e.g. wherein joinder of spouses is required)
  Quasi-parties – those in whose behalf a class or representative suit is brought (e.g. labor union)
 Permissive joinder of parties requires:
o The right to relief arises out of the same transaction or series of transactions
o Question of law or fact common to all plaintiffs or defendants
o Joinder is not proscribed by the rules on jurisdiction and venue
 Objection to misjoinder cannot be raised for the first time on appeal
 Class suit cannot be compromised or dismissed without the approval of the court
 Actions that survive against the decedent’s representatives are:
o Actions to recover real and personal property against the estate
o Actions to enforce liens thereon
o Actions to recover for an injury to person or property by reason of tort or delict
committed by the deceased

 RULE 4: VENUE OF ACTIONS

 Action for the review of an administrative decision involving real property should be brought in
the RTC of the place where the officer who rendered the decision holds office, and not where the
land is situated
 Mortgage foreclosed and mortgagor is in possession of the premises → real action
 Ownership/possession of real property → real action
 A stipulation as to the venue of a prospective action does not preclude the filing of the suit in the
residence of the plaintiff or that of the defendant under Sec. 2 of this Rule, in the absence of
qualifying or restrictive words in the agreement that would indicate that the venue cannot be any
place other than that agreed upon by the parties

RULE 5: UNIFORM PROCEDURE IN TRIAL COURTS

 Interpleader (Rule 62) is available in the MTCs

Comparison:
Revised Rules on Summary Procedure
vs.
Procedure for Small Claims Cases

I. Purpose
Summary Procedure Small Claims
To provide a speedy and inexpensive
disposition of cases that are defined to be
included in the cases for Summary procedure
II. Where Filed
Summary Procedure
1. Metropolitan Trial Courts
2. Municipal Trial Courts in Cities
3. Municipal Trial Courts
4. Municipal Circuit Trial Courts
III. Cases Covered
Summary Procedure
1. All cases of forcible entry and unlawful
detainer irrespective of the amount of
damages or unpaid rentals sought to be
recovered.
2. All other civil cases, except probate
proceedings, where the total amount of
plaintiff’s claim does not exceed P100,000 or
does not exceed P200,000 in Metro Manila,
exclusive of interests and costs
Criminal cases:
1. Violations of traffic laws, rules and
regulations, rental law; municipal or city
ordinances, B.P. 22
5. All other criminal cases where the penalty is
imprisonment not exceeding 6 months and/or
a fine of P 1,000 irrespective of other penalties
or civil liabilities arising therefrom; and
6. Offenses involving damage to property
through criminal negligence where the
imposable fine is not exceeding P10,000.
IV. Prohibited Cases
Summary Procedure
Will not apply to a civil case where the
plaintiff's cause of action is pleaded in the
same complaint with another cause of action
subject to the ordinary procedure; nor to a
criminal case where the offense charged is
necessarily related to another criminal case
subject to the ordinary procedure.
To provide a speedier and inexpensive
disposition of money claims of small amounts
Small Claims
1. Metropolitan Trial Courts
2. Municipal Trial Courts in Cities
3. Municipal Trial Courts
4. Municipal Circuit Trial Courts
Small Claims
Small claims cases/civil claims which are
exclusively for the payment of a sum of
money not exceeding P200,000 exclusive of
interest and costs, either
1. civil claims where the relief prayed for by
the plaintiff is solely for payment or
reimbursement of sum of money, or
2. The civil aspect of criminal actions, either
filed before the institution of the criminal
action, or reserved upon the filing of the
criminal action in court, pursuant to Rule 111
of the Revised Rules of Criminal Procedure.
These claims or demands may be:
1. For money owed under contracts of Lease,
Loan, Services, Sale, Mortgage
2. For damages arising from Fault or
negligence, Quasi-contract, Contract
3. The enforcement of a barangay amicable
settlement or an arbitration award involving a
money claim covered by Section 417 of this
Rule
Small Claims
1. Criminal actions are excluded such as
cases for libel and slander which grant the
accused the right to be heard and present
evidence. However, the civil aspect of a claim
for damages may be heard as a small claim if
reserved or instituted separately prior to the
filing of the criminal case.
2. civil cases which cannot be filed as small
claims regardless of amount
 RULE 6: KINDS OF PLEADINGS
 Recoupment – a compulsory counterclaim
 Set-off – a permissive counterclaim; does not arise out of nor is it necessarily connected with the
subject-matter of the opposing party's claim. It is not barred even if not set up in the action
 A party cannot, in his reply, amend his cause of action nor introduce therein new or additional
causes of action

 RULE 7: PARTS OF A PLEADING (Refer to Legal Forms/On Writing Legally)

 Verification may be made by counsel but certification against forum shopping must always be by
party
 There is forum shopping when:
o as a result of an adverse decision in one forum, or in anticipation thereof, a party seeks a
favorable opinion in another forum through means other than appeal or certiorari by
raising identical causes of action, subject-matter and issues
o when two or more actions involve the same transactions, essential facts and
circumstances, and raise identical causes of action, subject-matter and issues
o when the elements of litis pendentia are present or where a final j u d g m e n t in one
case will amount to res judicata in the other case
o whether in the two or more pending cases there is identity of parties, rights or causes of
action and reliefs sought
 Certification when there are several petitioners:
o One may execute the certification if authorized by the others
o Husband can execute certification for the spouses when there is joint interest in conjugal
property
o One of the relatives and co-owners of the properties in dispute sharing a common interest
and a common defense in the action
 For corporations:
o Duly authorized director or representative
o Specifically authorized lawyer who has personal knowledge of the facts required to be
disclosed in such document
 No forum shopping in subsequent refiling of a case dismissed with prejudice
  Since doctrine of forum non conveniens requires such a factual determination, it is more properly
considered a matter of defense. It should not be used as a ground for a motion to dismiss
 In verification, the signature of one instead of all the parties would be sufficient if there is showing
that he had sufficient knowledge and belief to sign the verification
 Express authorization not an indispensable requirement in CFS by corporate party – officer must
be in a position to verify the truth and correctness of the complaint or petition
 Being a resident agent does not mean one is authorized to sign in behalf of the foreign principal
unless authorized


 RULE 8: MANNER OF MAKING ALLEGATIONS IN PLEADINGS

 Conclusions, inferences, presumptions, and details of probative matters should not be alleged
 Evidentiary facts are those which are necessary to prove the ultimate fact or which furnish
evidence of the existence of some other facts
 Implied admission of authenticity and due execution of an instrument in the pleading is not
inconsistent with parol evidence rule
 Not deemed admitted even if not specifically denied:
o Allegations as to amount of damages
o Allegations which are immaterial to the cause of action (e.g. conclusions of facts and law,
inferences, etc.)
o Allegations in the complaint where no answer has been filed by the defendant
 Where the defendant relied solely on his defense of res judicata and submitted the case for
decision on that issue, he is deemed to have admitted all the material allegations

 RULE 9: EFFECT OF FAILURE TO PLEAD

 Order of default – issued by the court, on plaintiff’s motion and at the start of proceedings, for
failure of defendant to file his responsive pleading seasonably
 Thereafter, when the evidence for the plaintiff has been received ex parte, that the court renders
a judgment by default on the basis of such evidence
 Failure to appear at the hearing is not a ground for order of default
  While a default order, being interlocutory, is not appealable, an order denying a petition for relief,
seeking to set aside an order of default, is not merely interlocutory but final, and therefore,
appealable

 RULE 10: AMENDED AND SUPPLEMENTAL PLEADINGS

 Amendments are not proper and should be denied:
o Where the purpose of the amendment is to confer jurisdiction on the court
o If it would result in delay
o If it would result in a change of the cause of action or defense or change the theory of the
case, or are inconsistent with the original allegations in the complaint
o If the plaintiff had no cause of action at the filing of the original complaint and the purpose
of the amendment is to introduce a subsequently-accrued cause of action
 A plaintiff may move to amend his complaint even if the same was dismissed on motion of the
defendant provided the dismissal order is not yet final

RULE 11: WHEN TO FILE RESPONSIVE PLEADINGS

RESPONSIVE PLEADING
Answer to complaint (including 3rd party
complaint)
Answer to amended complaint (including
counterclaim, cross-claim, 3rd party complaint and
complaint in intervention)
Answer to counterclaim or cross-claim
Reply
Answer to supplemental complaint
WHEN TO FILE
15 days after service of summons, unless
extended by court
Matter of right – 15 days after service
Not a matter of right – within 10 days from notice
of order admitting the same
10 days from service
10 days from answer
10 days from notice of order admitting the same,
unless a different period is fixed by the court

RULE 12: BILL OF PARTICULARS

 Reglementary period for filing a responsive pleading is suspended

 RULE 13: FILING AND SERVICE OF PLEADINGS, JUDGMENTS AND OTHER PAPERS
FILING SERVICE
Presenting pleading/paper to clerk of court Providing a copy to a party (through counsel)
Personally or by registered mail Personally or by registered/ordinary mail (except
for judgments/final orders)
Substituted service N/A Substituted service allowed
 Publication N/A Publication allowed (where summons was
likewise served by publication)

RULE 14: SUMMONS

 Summons cannot be served by mail
 Entity without juridical personality can be sued, but cannot sue (but may file
counterclaim/crossclaim)
 List of persons or officers authorized to receive summons on behalf of a corporation is exclusive
and doctrine of substantial compliance not applicable (agent and directors not included)
 Defendant corporation is subject to suit even if dissolved
 Any form of appearance in court , by the defendant, by his agent authorized to do so, or by
attorney, is equivalent to service except where such appearance is precisely to object to the
jurisdiction of the court over the person of the defendant

RULE 15: MOTIONS

 Exceptions to 3 day notice rule:
o Ex parte motions
o Urgent motions
o Motions agreed upon by the parties to be heard on shorter notice
o Motions for summary judgment which must be served at least 10 days before its hearing
 Ex parte proceeding – taken or granted at the instance of one party, and without notice to or
contestation by any party adversely affected
 General rule: All written motions shall be set for hearing. Xptn: non-litigated/non-litigable
motions- those which may be acted upon by the court without prejudicing the rights of the
adverse party. Note: exceptions to 3 day notice rule does not necessarily mean that hearings are
dispensed with as they may still be heard ex parte

RULE 16: MOTION TO DISMISS

RULE 16 RULE 33 (Demurrer to Evidence)
Based on preliminary objections Insufficiency of evidence
May be filed by any defending party against a Filed only by the defendant against the complaint
claim of the plaintiff
 Should be filed within the time for but prior to the May be filed only after the plaintiff has completed
filing of the answer of the defending party to the the presentation of evidence
pleading asserting the claim against him

 Lack of legal capacity to sue - plaintiff is either not in the exercise of his civil rights or does not
have the character or representation that he claims (e.g. not the real party in interest; foreign
corporation without the requisite license to do business)
 Lis pendens/auter action pendant – when the same cause of action is the subject of a complaint
in one case and of a counterclaim in another
 Generally, estoppel and prescription cannot be invoked against the State
 The complaint may be dismissed where the complainant, after due notice, willfully fails to appear
on the date set for mediation, conciliation or arbitration
 The fact that the suit is exclusively between members of the same family is ground for dismissal
if no earnest efforts at compromise had been made (Art. 222 NCC, Art. 151, FC)
 Forum non conveniens is not a ground for dismissal under this rule, and hence, more properly
considered as a matter of defense
 Courts will still decide cases, otherwise moot and academic:
o If there is a grave violation of the Constitution
o An exceptional character of the situation and the paramount public interest is involved
o The constitutional issue raised
 Action cannot be refiled if it was dismissed on any of these grounds:
o Res judicata
o Prescription
o Extinguishment of the claim or demand
o Unenforceability under the statute of frauds
 A motion to dismiss is not a responsive pleading, hence, the filing thereof does not preclude the
plaintiff from amending his complaint before the defendant files his answer

RULE 17: DISMISSAL OF ACTIONS

RULE 18: PRE-TRIAL
 Where nobody appeared at the pre-trial except the counsel for the plaintiff but said counsel had
no special authority to represent the plaintiff therein, the plaintiff may properly be declared non-
 suited. The plaintiff may be so declared non-suited and the case dismissed without motion by the
defendant. Such dismissal has the effect of an adjudication on the merits

RULE 19: INTERVENTION

 When an intervenor has become a party to a suit, the trial court cannot dismiss the intervention
suit on the basis of an agreement between the original parties to the action unless the intervenor
is a party in such an agreement
 When an intervening petition has been filed, a plaintiff may not dismiss the action in any respect
to the prejudice of the intervenor
 When the rights of the party seeking to intervene will not be prejudiced by the judgment in the
main case and can be fully protected in a separate proceeding, the court may deny the
intervention sought

RULE 21: SUBPOENA

 Viatory right – right of witness not to be compelled to attend upon a subpoena by reason of the
distance from the residence of the witness to the place where he is to testify (only available in
civil cases)

RULE 22: COMPUTATION OF TIME

 Does not apply to prescriptive period for felonies provided by the RPC

RULE 23: DEPOSITIONS PENDING ACTION

 If the deponent is only a witness and is available at the trial, his deposition cannot be used as
evidence but may be used only to impeach him. If the deponent witness is not available under
any of the circumstances in paragraph (c), then his deposition can be used as direct evidence
 The introduction of the deposition binds the party who introduces it, since it thereby makes the
deponent his witness, except if a) it is introduced to impeach or contradict the witness, or b) if it
is the deposition of the opposing party
 Commission – instrument issued by a court of justice, or other competent tribunal, to authorize a
person to take depositions or do any other act by authority of such court or tribunal
Letters rogatory – addressed to judicial authority in a foreign state, requesting the examination
of a witness within the jurisdiction of the former
  Letters rogatory may be applied for and issued only after a commission has been returned
unexecuted

RULE 26: ADMISSION BY ADVERSE PARTY

 Where a copy of the request for admission was served only upon the counsel of the party so
requested, it was held that there was insufficient compliance with Rule 26
 However, an answer to a request for admission properly served, which was signed and sworn to
by the counsel of the party so requested, is sufficient compliance with this rule

RULE 27:
 The production of more documents affords more opportunity for discovery than a subpoena
duces tecum, as in the latter, the documents are brought to the court for the first time on the
date of the scheduled trial wherein such documents are required to be produced

RULE 28:
 The mental condition of a party is in controversy in proceedings for guardianship over an imbecile
or insane person, while the physical condition of a party is generally involved in physical injuries
cases

RULE 34: JUDGMENT ON THE PLEADINGS

JUDGMENT ON THE PLEADINGS SUMMARY JUDGMENT (RULE 35)
No genuine issue between the parties Proper even if there is an issue as to damages
recoverable
Based exclusively upon pleadings without Based on pleadings, affidavits, depositions, and
introduction of evidence admissions of the parties, showing that, except as
to the amount of damages, there is no genuine
issue
Available in any action, except for declaration of Proper only in actions to recover a debt, or for a
nullity or annulment of marriage and legal liquidated sum of money, or for declaratory relief
separation
Subject only to the 3 day notice rule; may even be Requires prior 10 day notice
made ex parte

RULE 35: SUMMARY JUDGMENTS

  A genuine issue means an issue of fact which calls for the presentation of evidence, as
distinguished from an issue which is fictitious or contrived so as not to constitute a genuine issue
for trial
 The test for the propriety of a motion for summary judgment is whether the pleadings, affidavits
and exhibits in support of the motion are sufficient to overcome the opposing papers and to justify
the finding that, as a matter of law, there is no defense to the action or the claim is clearly
meritorious

RULE 36: JUDGMENTS, FINAL ORDERS AND ENTRY THEREOF

 Several judgment – proper where the liability of each party is clearly separable and distinct from
that of his co-parties such that the claims against each of them could have been the subject of
separate suits, and judgment for or against one of them will not necessarily affect the other; not
proper in actions against solidary debtors
 Exception to the rule that final judgments may no longer be modified in any respect:
o Correction of clerical errors
o Nunc pro tunc entries
o Void judgments
o Whenever circumstances transpire after the finality of the decision making its execution
unjust and inequitable

RULE 37: NEW TRIAL OR RECONSIDERATION

 An appeal is taken by filing a notice of appeal, and the appeal is perfected upon the expiration of
the last day to appeal by any party
 A motion for new trial is considered pro forma (and hence does not suspend the period for appeal)
where:
o It is based on the same ground as that raised in a preceding motion for new trial or
reconsideration which has already been denied
o It contains the same arguments and manner of discussion appearing in the prior
opposition to the motion to dismiss and which motion was granted
o The new ground alleged in the second motion for new trial already existed, was available
and could have been alleged in the first motion for new trial which was denied
 o It is based on the ground of insufficiency of evidence or that the judgment is contrary to
law but does not specify the supposed defects in the judgment
o It is based on FAME but does not specify the facts constituting these grounds and/or is
not accompanied by an affidavit of merits
 Motion for reopening trial – may properly be presented only after either or both parties have
formally offered and closed their evidence before judgment; controlled by no other rule than the
paramount interest of justice resting entirely on the sound discretion of a trial court, the exercise
of which discretion will not be reviewed on appeal unless a clear abuse thereof is shown
 Affidavits of merits are not required in motions for reconsideration
 Affidavits of merits may be dispensed with when the judgment is null and void as where the court
has no jurisdiction or procedurally defective as where judgment by default was rendered before
the reglementary period to answer had expired or where the defendant was unreasonably
deprived of his day in court as when no notice of hearing was furnished him in advance

RULE 46
 Certified true copy of judgment, order or resolution – such other copy furnished to a party at his
instance or in his behalf, by the authorized officers or representatives of the issuing authority.
That certified true copy must comply with all the regulations therefor of the issuing entity and it
is the authenticated original of such certified true copy, and not a mere xerox copy thereof, which
shall be attached as an annex to the petition or other initiatory pleading
