519 Phil. 272
AUSTRIA-MARTINEZ, J.:
On April 8, 1994, respondent Ley Construction and Development Corporation (LCDC) filed a complaint for specific performance and damages with the Regional Trial Court of Makati, Branch 62 (RTC), docketed as Civil Case No. 94-1429, against petitioner Hyatt Industrial Manufacturing Corporation (Hyatt) claiming that Hyatt reneged in its obligation to transfer 40% of the pro indiviso share of a real property in Makati in favor of LCDC despite LCDC's full payment of the purchase price of P2,634,000.00; and that Hyatt failed to develop the said property in a joint venture, despite LCDC's payment of 40% of the pre-construction cost.[3] On April 12, 1994, LCDC filed an amended complaint impleading Princeton Development Corporation (Princeton) as additional defendant claiming that Hyatt sold the subject property to Princeton on March 30, 1994 in fraud of LCDC.[4] On September 21, 1994, LCDC filed a second amended complaint adding as defendant, Yu He Ching (Yu), President of Hyatt, alleging that LCDC paid the purchase price of P2,634,000.00 to Hyatt through Yu.[5]LCDC filed a motion for reconsideration[16] which was denied however by the trial court in its Order dated April 21, 1997.[17] LCDC went to the CA on appeal which was docketed as CA-G.R. CV No. 57119 and assigned to the then Seventh Division of the CA.[18]
Responsive pleadings were filed and LCDC filed notices to take the depositions of Yu; Pacita Tan Go, Account Officer of Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC); and Elena Sy, Finance Officer of Hyatt. Hyatt also filed notice to take deposition of Manuel Ley, President of LCDC, while Princeton filed notice to take the depositions of Manuel and Janet Ley.[6]
On July 17, 1996, the RTC ordered the deposition-taking to proceed.[7]
At the scheduled deposition of Elena Sy on September 17, 1996, Hyatt and Yu prayed that all settings for depositions be disregarded and pre-trial be set instead, contending that the taking of depositions only delay the resolution of the case. The RTC agreed and on the same day ordered all depositions cancelled and pre-trial to take place on November 14, 1996.[8]
LCDC moved for reconsideration[9] which the RTC denied in its October 14, 1996 Order, portion of which reads:This Court has to deny the motion, because: 1) as already pointed out by this Court in the questioned Order said depositions will only delay the early termination of this case; 2) had this Court set this case for pre-trial conference and trial thereafter, this case would have been terminated by this time; 3) after all, what the parties would like to elicit from their deponents would probably be elicited at the pre-trial conference; 4) no substantial rights of the parties would be prejudiced, if pre-trial conference is held, instead of deposition.[10]On November 14, 1996, the scheduled date of the pre-trial, LCDC filed an Urgent Motion to Suspend Proceedings Due to Pendency of Petition for Certiorari in the Court of Appeals.[11] The petition, which sought to annul the Orders of the RTC dated September 17, 1996 and October 14, 1996, was docketed as CA-G.R. SP No. 42512[12] and assigned to the then Twelfth Division of the CA.
Meanwhile, pre-trial proceeded at the RTC as scheduled[13] and with the refusal of LCDC to enter into pre-trial, Hyatt, Yu and Princeton moved to declare LCDC non-suited which the RTC granted in its Order dated December 3, 1996, thus:On September 17, 1996, this Court noticing that this case was filed as early (as) April 4, 1994[14] and has not reached the pre-trial stage because of several depositions applied for by the parties, not to mention that the records of this case has reached two (2) volumes, to avoid delay, upon motion, ordered the cancellation of the depositions.
On September 24, 1996, plaintiff filed a motion for reconsideration, seeking to reconsider and set aside the order dated September 17, 1996, which motion for reconsideration was denied in an order dated October 14, 1996, ruling among others that "after all, what the parties would like to elicit from these deponents would probably be elicited at the pre-trial conference", and, reiterated the order setting this case for pre-trial conference on November 14, 1996.
On the scheduled pre-trial conference on November 14, 1996, a petition for certiorari was filed with the Court of Appeals, seeking to annul the Order of this Court dated September 17, 1996 and October 14, 1996, furnishing this Court with a copy on the same date.
At the scheduled pre-trial conference on November 14, 1996, plaintiff orally moved the Court to suspend pre-trial conference alleging pendency of a petition with the Court of Appeals and made it plain that it cannot proceed with the pre-trial because the issue on whether or not plaintiff may apply for depositions before the pre-trial conference is a prejudicial question. Defendants objected, alleging that even if the petition is granted, pre-trial should proceed and that plaintiff could take deposition after the pre-trial conference, insisting that defendants are ready to enter into a pre-trial conference.
This Court denied plaintiff's motion to suspend proceedings and ordered plaintiff to enter into pre-trial conference. Plaintiff refused. Before this Court denied plaintiff's motion to suspend, this Court gave Plaintiff two (2) options: enter into a pre-trial conference, advising plaintiff that what it would like to obtain at the deposition may be obtained at the pre-trial conference, thus expediting early termination of this case; and, terminate the pre-trial conference and apply for deposition later on. Plaintiff insisted on suspension of the pre-trial conference alleging that it is not ready to enter into pre-trial conference in view of the petition for certiorari with the Court of Appeals. Defendants insisted that pre-trial conference proceed as scheduled, manifesting their readiness to enter into a pre-trial conference.
When plaintiff made it clear that it is not entering into the pre-trial conference, defendants prayed that plaintiff be declared non-suited. x x x
x x x x
In the light of the foregoing circumstances, this Court is compelled to dismiss plaintiff's complaint.
WHEREFORE, for failure of plaintiff to enter into pre-trial conference without any valid reason, plaintiff's complaint is dismissed. Defendants' counterclaims are likewise dismissed.
SO ORDERED.[15]
WHEREFORE, premises considered, finding the appeal meritorious, this case is remanded to the court a quo for further hearing and directing the latter to allow the deposition taking without delay.The CA reasoned that: LCDC complied with Section 1, Rule 23 of the 1997 Rules of Civil Procedure which expressly sanctions depositions as a mode of discovery without leave of court after the answer has been served; to unduly restrict the modes of discovery during trial would defeat the very purpose for which it is intended which is a pre-trial device, and at the time of the trial, the issues would already be confined to matters defined during pre-trial; the alleged intention of expediting the resolution of the case is not sufficient justification to recall the order to take deposition as records show that the delay was brought about by postponement interposed by both parties and other legal antecedents that are in no way imputable to LCDC alone; deposition-taking, together with the other modes of discovery are devised by the rules as a means to attain the objective of having all the facts presented to the court; the trial court also erred in dismissing the complaint as LCDC appeared during the pre-trial conference and notified it of the filing of a petition before the CA; such is a legitimate justification to stall the pre-trial conference, as the filing of the petition was made in good faith in their belief that the court a quo erred in canceling the deposition scheduled for no apparent purpose.[24]
SO ORDERED.[23]
THE COURT OF APPEALS, SEVENTH DIVISION, COMMITTED GRAVE ABUSE OF DISCRETION, ACTUALLY AMOUNTING TO LACK OF JURISDICTION, IN HOLDING IN EFFECT INVALID THE ORDERS OF THE LOWER COURT DATED SEPTEMBER 17, 1996 AND OCTOBER 14, 1996 WHICH ARE NOT RAISED OR PENDING BEFORE IT, BUT IN ANOTHER CASE (CA-G.R. SP. No. 42512) PENDING BEFORE ANOTHER DIVISION OF THE COURT OF APPEALS, TWELFTH DIVISION, AND WHICH CASE WAS DISMISSED BY THE SAID DIVISION OF THE COURT OF APPEALS AND FINALLY BY THE HONORABLE SUPREME COURT IN G.R. NO. 133145.II
THE COURT OF APPEALS, SEVENTH DIVISION, COMMITTED GRAVE ABUSE OF DISCRETION AND SERIOUS ERRORS OF LAW IN REVERSING THE LOWER COURT'S ORDER DATED DECEMBER 3, 1996 AND APRIL 21, 1997 HOLDING RESPONDENT NON-SUITED FOR FAILURE TO ENTER INTO PRE-TRIAL.[26]
x x x Any decision of ours will not produce any practical legal effect. According to the petitioner, if we annul the questioned Orders, the dismissal of its Complaint by the trial [court] will have to be set aside in its pending appeal. That assumes that the division handling the appeal will agree with Our decision. On the other hand, it may not. Also other issues may be involved therein than the validity of the herein questioned orders.This Court in G.R. No. 133145 also clearly stated that:
We cannot pre-empt the decision that might be rendered in such appeal. The division to [which] it has been assigned should be left free to resolve the same. On the other hand, it is better that this Court speak with one voice.[36]
x x x First, it should be stressed that the said Petition (CA-G.R. SP No. 42512) sought to set aside only the two interlocutory RTC Orders, not the December 3, 1996 Resolution dismissing the Complaint. Verily, the Petition could not have assailed the Resolution, which was issued after the filing of the former.With the pronouncements of the CA in CA-G.R. SP No. 42512 and by this Court in G.R. No. 133145 that the subsequent appeal via CA-G.R. CV No. 57119 constitutes as the adequate remedy to resolve the validity of the RTC Orders dated September 17, 1996 and November 14, 1996, the arguments of petitioners on this point clearly have no leg to stand on and must therefore fail.
Under the circumstances, granting the Petition for Certiorari and setting aside the two Orders are manifestly pointless, considering that the Complaint itself had already been dismissed. Indeed, the reversal of the assailed Orders would have practical effect only if the dismissal were also set aside and the Complaint reinstated. In other words, the dismissal of the Complaint rendered the Petition for Certiorari devoid of any practical value.
Second, the Petition for Certiorari was superseded by the filing, before the Court of Appeals, of a subsequent appeal docketed as CA-G.R. CV No. 57119, questioning the Resolution and the two Orders. In this light, there was no more reason for the CA to resolve the Petition for Certiorari.
x x x x
In this case, the subsequent appeal constitutes an adequate remedy. In fact, it is the appropriate remedy, because it assails not only the Resolution but also the two Orders.
x x x x
WHEREFORE, the Petition is DENIED and the assailed Resolutions AFFIRMED. x x x.[37]
SECTION 1. Depositions pending action, when may be taken.— By leave of court after jurisdiction has been obtained over any defendant or over property which is the subject of the action, or without such leave after an answer has been served, the testimony of any person, whether a party or not, may be taken, at the instance of any party, by deposition upon oral examination or written interrogatories. The attendance of witnesses may be compelled by the use of a subpoena as provided in Rule 21. Depositions shall be taken only in accordance with these Rules. The deposition of a person confined in prison may be taken only by leave of court on such terms as the court prescribes. (Emphasis supplied).As correctly observed by the CA, LCDC complied with the above quoted provision as it made its notice to take depositions after the answers of the defendants have been served. LCDC having complied with the rules then prevailing, the trial court erred in canceling the previously scheduled depositions.
The availability of the proposed deponent to testify in court does not constitute "good cause" to justify the court's order that his deposition shall not be taken. That the witness is unable to attend or testify is one of the grounds when the deposition of a witness may be used in court during the trial. But the same reason cannot be successfully invoked to prohibit the taking of his deposition.Petitioner also argues that LCDC has no evidence to support its claims and that it was only after the filing of its Complaint that it started looking for evidence through the modes of discovery.
The right to take statements and the right to use them in court have been kept entirely distinct. The utmost freedom is allowed in taking depositions; restrictions are imposed upon their use. As a result, there is accorded the widest possible opportunity for knowledge by both parties of all the facts before the trial. Such of this testimony as may be appropriate for use as a substitute for viva voce examination may be introduced at the trial; the remainder of the testimony, having served its purpose in revealing the facts to the parties before trial, drops out of the judicial picture.
x x x [U]nder the concept adopted by the new Rules, the deposition serves the double function of a method of discovery - with use on trial not necessarily contemplated - and a method of presenting testimony. Accordingly, no limitations other than relevancy and privilege have been placed on the taking of depositions, while the use at the trial is subject to circumscriptions looking toward the use of oral testimony wherever practicable.[47]
What is chiefly contemplated is the discovery of every bit of information which may be useful in the preparation for trial, such as the identity and location of persons having knowledge of relevant facts; those relevant facts themselves; and the existence, description, nature, custody, condition, and location of any books, documents, or other tangible things. Hence, "the deposition-discovery rules are to be accorded a broad and liberal treatment. No longer can the time-honored cry of "fishing expedition" serve to preclude a party from inquiring into the facts underlying his opponent's case. Mutual knowledge of all the relevant facts gathered by both parties is essential to proper litigation. To that end, either party may compel the other to disgorge whatever facts he has in his possession. The deposition-discovery procedure simply advances the stage at which the disclosure can be compelled from the time of trial to the period preceding it, thus reducing the possibility, of surprise.[49]It also does not escape this Court's attention that the trial court, before dismissing LCDC's complaint, gave LCDC two options: (a) enter into a pre-trial conference, advising LCDC that what it would like to obtain at the deposition may be obtained at the pre-trial conference, thus expediting early termination of the case; and (b) terminate the pre-trial conference and apply for deposition later on. The trial court erred in forcing LCDC to choose only from these options and in dismissing its complaint upon LCDC's refusal to choose either of the two.
x x x To unduly restrict the modes of discovery during trial, would defeat the very purpose for which it is intended, as a pre-trial device. By then, the issues would have been confined only on matters defined during pre-trial. The importance of the modes of discovery cannot be gainsaid in this case in view of the nature of the controversy involved and the conflicting interest claimed by the parties.[50]Deposition is chiefly a mode of discovery, the primary function of which is to supplement the pleadings for the purpose of disclosing the real matters of dispute between the parties and affording an adequate factual basis during the preparation for trial.[51]
The truth is that "evidentiary matters" may be inquired into and learned by the parties before the trial. Indeed, it is the purpose and policy of the law that the parties — before the trial if not indeed even before the pre-trial — should discover or inform themselves of all the facts relevant to the action, not only those known to them individually, but also those known to their adversaries; in other words, the desideratum is that civil trials should not be carried on in the dark; and the Rules of Court make this ideal possible through the deposition— discovery mechanism set forth in Rules 24 to 29. The experience in other jurisdictions has been the ample discovery before trial, under proper regulation, accomplished one of the most necessary ends of modern procedure; it not only eliminates unessential issues from trials thereby shortening them considerably, but also requires parties to play the game with the cards on the table so that the possibility of fair settlement before trial is measurably increased.In this case, the information sought to be obtained through the depositions of Elena and Pacita are necessary to fully equip LCDC in determining what issues will be defined at the pre-trial. Without such information before pre-trial, LCDC will be forced to prosecute its case in the dark — the very situation which the rules of discovery seek to prevent. Indeed, the rules on discovery seek to make trial less a game of blind man's bluff and more a fair contest with the basic issues and facts disclosed to the fullest practicable extent. [54]
As just intimated, the deposition-discovery procedure was designed to remedy the conceded inadequacy and cumbersomeness of the pre-trial functions of notice-giving, issue-formulation and fact revelation theretofore performed primarily by the pleadings.
The various modes or instruments of discovery are meant to serve (1) as a device, along with the pre-trial hearing under Rule 20, to narrow and clarify the basic issues between the parties, and (2) as a device for ascertaining the facts relative to those issues. The evident purpose is, to repeat, to enable the parties, consistent with recognized privileges, to obtain the fullest possible knowledge of the issues and facts before civil trials and thus prevent that said trials are carried on in the dark.[53] (emphasis supplied)
[8] Id. at 785.
- for Elena C. Sy, (by plaintiff) on September 17, 1996 at 2:00 o'clock in the afternoon;
- for Manuel Ley (by defendant Hyatt) on September 24, 1996 at 2:00 o'clock in the afternoon.
- for Yu He Ching (by plaintiff) on September 26, 1996 at 2:00 p.m.
- for Manuel Ley and Janet Ley (by defendant Princeton) on October 1, 1996 at 2:00 p.m.
- for Pacita Tan Go (by plaintiff) on October 3, 1996 at 2:00 p.m.
The fallo of which reads:[9] Id. at 790-796."WHEREFORE, in order not to delay the early termination of this case, all depositions set for hearing are hereby cancelled and set this case for Pre-trial on November 14, 1996 at 2:00 o'clock in the afternoon."