368 Phil. 653
MENDOZA, J.:
The Court, after an assessment of the diverging views and arguments presented by both parties, is of the opinion and so holds that judgment on the pleadings is inappropriate not only for the fact that the defendants in their answer, particularly in its paragraph 3 to the amended complaint, specifically denied the claim of damages against them, but also because of the ruling in De Cruz vs. Cruz, G.R. No. 27759, April 17, 1970 (32 SCRA 307), citing Rili vs. Chunaco, 98 Phil. 505, which ruled that the party claiming damages must satisfactorily prove the amount thereof and that though the rule is that failure to specifically deny the allegations in the complaint or counter-claim is deemed an admission of said allegations, there is however an exception to it, that is, that when the allegations refer to the amount of damages, the allegations must still be proved. This ruling is in accord with the provision of Section 1, Rule 9 of the Rules of Court.Petitioners moved for a reconsideration of the order of dismissal, but their motion was denied.[7] Hence, this petition for review on certiorari. Petitioners contend:
That while the plaintiffs in their amended complaint allege that earnest efforts towards a compromise with the defendants were made, the fact is that their complaint was not verified as provided in Article 151 of the Family Code. Besides, it is not believed that there were indeed earnest efforts made to patch up and/or reconcile the two feuding brothers, Gregorio and Augusto, both surnamed Hontiveros.
The submission of the plaintiffs that, assuming no such earnest efforts were made, the same is not necessary or jurisdictional in the light of the ruling in Rufino Magbaleta, et al., petitioners, vs. Hon. Arsenio M. Gonong, et al., respondents, No. L-44903, April 22, 1977, is, to the mind of this Court, not applicable to the case at bar for the fact is the rationale in that case is not present in the instant case considering these salient points:
a) Teodora Ayson, the alleged wife of defendant Gregorio Hontiveros and allegedly not a member of the Hontiveros Family, is not shown to be really the wife of Gregorio, a fact which Gregorio also denied in their verified answer to the amended complaint;b) Teodora Ayson has not been shown to have acquired any proprietary right or interest in the land that was litigated by Gregorio and Augusto, unlike in the cited case of Magbaleta where it was shown that a stranger to the family acquired certain right;
c) In the decision rendered by the appellate court no mention was made at all of the name of Teodora Ayson as part-awardee of Lot 37 that was adjudged to Gregorio other than himself who was therein described as a widower. Moreover, Teodora was never mentioned in said decision, nor in the amended complaint and in the amended motion for judgment on the pleadings that she ever took any part in the act or transaction that gave rise to the damages allegedly suffered by the plaintiffs for which they now claim some compensation.
WHEREFORE, in the light of all the foregoing premises, the Court orders, as it hereby orders, the dismissal of this case with cost against the plaintiffs.
SO ORDERED.
Private respondents raise a preliminary question. They argue that petitioners should have brought this case on appeal to the Court of Appeals since the order of the trial court judge was actually a decision on the merits. On the other hand, even if petition for certiorari were the proper remedy, they contend that the petition is defective because the judge of the trial court has not been impleaded as a respondent.[8]
- THE REGIONAL TRIAL COURT PALPABLY ERRED IN DISMISSING THE COMPLAINT ON THE GROUND THAT IT DOES NOT ALLEGE UNDER OATH THAT EARNEST EFFORTS TOWARD A COMPROMISE WERE MADE PRIOR TO THE FILING THEREOF AS REQUIRED BY ARTICLE 151 OF THE FAMILY CODE.
- THE REGIONAL TRIAL COURT PALPABLY ERRED IN NOT DENYING THE MOTION FOR JUDGMENT ON THE PLEADINGS AND ORDERING A TRIAL ON THE MERITS.
Under Section 5, subparagraph (2)(e), Article VIII of the 1987 Constitution, the Supreme Court is vested with the power to review, revise, reverse, modify, or affirm on appeal or certiorari as the law or the Rules of Court may provide, final judgments and orders of lower courts in all cases in which only an error or question of law is involved. A similar provision is contained in Section 17, fourth paragraph, subparagraph (4) of the Judiciary Act of 1948, as amended by Republic Act No. 5440. And, in such cases where only questions of law are involved, Section 25 of the Interim Rules and Guidelines implementing Batas Pambansa Blg. 129, in conjunction with Section 3 of Republic Act No. 5440, provides that the appeal to the Supreme Court shall be taken by petition for certiorari which shall be governed by Rule 45 of the Rules of Court.x x x when a CFI (RTC) adjudicates a case in the exercise of its original jurisdiction, the correct mode of elevating the judgment to the Court of Appeals is by ordinary appeal, or appeal by writ of error, involving merely the filing of a notice of appeal - except only if the appeal is taken in special proceedings and other cases wherein multiple appeals are allowed under the law, in which even the filing of a record on appeal is additionally required. Of course, when the appeal would involve purely questions of law or any of the other cases (except criminal cases as stated hereunder) specified in Section 5(2), Article X of the Constitution, it should be taken to the Supreme Court by petition for review on certiorari in accordance with Rules 42 and 45 of the Rules of Court.
The rule, therefore, is that direct appeals to this Court from the trial court on questions of law have to be through the filing of a petition for review on certiorari. It has been held that:
Under the foregoing considerations, therefore, the inescapable conclusion is that herein petitioner adopted the correct mode of appeal in G.R. No. 88354 by filing with this Court a petition to review on certiorari the decision of the Regional Trail Court of Pasig in Civil Case No. 25528 and raising therein purely questions of law.In Meneses v. Court of Appeals, it was held:[10]
It must also be stressed that the trial court's order of 5 June 1992 dismissing the petitioner's complaint was, whether it was right or wrong, a final order because it had put an end to the particular matter resolved, or settled definitely the matter therein disposed of and left nothing more to be done by the trial court except the execution of the order. It is a firmly settled rule that the remedy against such order is the remedy of appeal and not certiorari. That appeal may be solely on questions of law, in which case it may be taken only to this Court; or on questions of fact and law, in which case the appeal should be brought to the Court of Appeals. Pursuant to Murillo v. Consul, the appeal to this Court should be by petition for review on certiorari in accordance with Rule 45 of the Rules of Court.As private respondents themselves admit, the order of November 23, 1995 is a final order from which an appeal can be taken. It is final in the sense that it disposes of the pending action before the court and puts an end to the litigation so that nothing more was left for the trial court to do.[11] Furthermore, as the questions raised are questions of law, petition for review on certiorari is the proper mode of appeal. These questions are: (1) whether after denying petitioners' motion for judgment on the pleadings, the trial court could dismiss their complaint motu proprio for failure to comply with Art. 151 of the Family Code which provides that no suit between members of the same family shall prosper unless it appears from the complaint, which must be verified, that earnest efforts towards a compromise have been made but the same have failed; and (2) whether Art. 151 applies to this case. These questions do not require an examination of the probative value of evidence presented and the truth or falsehood of facts asserted which questions of fact would entail.[12]
The court cannot dismiss a case motu proprio without violating the plaintiff's right to be heard, except in the following instances: if the plaintiff fails to appear at the time of the trial; if he fails to prosecute his action for an unreasonable length of time; or if he fails to comply with the rules or any order of the court; or if the court finds that it has no jurisdiction over the subject matter of the suit.However, none of these exceptions appears in this case.
SECTION 1. Judgment on the pleadings. -- Where an answer fails to tender an issue, or otherwise admits the material allegation of the adverse party's pleading, the court may, on motion of the party, direct judgment on such pleading. But in actions for annulment of marriage or for legal separation the material facts alleged in the complaint shall always be proved.Under the rules, if there is no controverted matter in the case after the answer is filed, the trial court has the discretion to grant a motion for judgment on the pleadings filed by a party.[15] Where there are actual issues raised in the answer, such as one involving damages, which require the presentation of evidence and assessment thereof by the trial court, it is improper for the judge to render judgment based on the pleadings alone.[16] In this case, aside from the amount of damages, the following factual issues have to be resolved, namely, (1) private respondent Teodora Ayson's participation and/or liability, if any, to petitioners and (2) the nature, extent, and duration of private respondents' possession of the subject property. The trial court, therefore, correctly denied petitioners' motion for judgment on the pleadings.
No suit between members of the same family shall prosper unless it should appear from the verified complaint or petition that earnest efforts toward a compromise have been made, but that the same have failed. It if is shown that no such efforts were in fact made, the case must be dismissed.This rule shall not apply to cases which may not be the subject of compromise under the Civil Code.
As early as two decades ago, we already ruled in Gayon v. Gayon that the enumeration of "brothers and sisters" as members of the same family does not comprehend "sisters-in-law." In that case, then Chief Justice Concepcion emphasized that "sisters-in-law" (hence, also "brothers-in-law") are not listed under Art. 217 of the New Civil Code as members of the same family. Since Art. 150 of the Family Code repeats essentially the same enumeration of "members of the family," we find no reason to alter existing jurisprudence on the mater. Consequently, the court a quo erred in ruling that petitioner Guerrero, being a brother-in-law of private respondent Hernando, was required to exert earnest efforts towards a compromise before filing the present suit.Religious relationship and relationship by affinity are not given any legal effect in this jurisdiction.[21] Consequently, private respondent Ayson, who is described in the complaint as the spouse of respondent Hontiveros, and petitioner Maria Hontiveros, who is admittedly the spouse of petitioner Augusto Hontiveros, are considered strangers to the Hontiveros family, for purposes of Art. 151.