FACTS:
Ruby filed a petition for the allowance of the will of Luz however, Lilia
opposed it. The trial court designated Atty. Briones as Special Administrator
of the estate. The heirs of Luz filed a Notice of Appeal assailing the order as
to the payment of Briones’ commission. They subsequently filed their record on
appeal. The trial court denied the appeal and disapproved the record on appeal
on the ground of forum shopping. The heirs filed with CA a Petition for
certiorari. CA reversed the decision of the trial court for the latter had no
power or authority to deny
the appeal on the ground of forum shopping. CA also refused to resolve the
issue of forum shopping
ISSUE:
WON multi- appeals are allowed in the same case.
RULING:
YES. The rationale behind allowing more than one appeal in the same case is to
enable the rest of the case to proceed in the event that a separate and
distinct issue is resolved by the court and held to be final. In
this multi-appeal mode, the probate court loses jurisdiction only over the
subject matter of the appeal but retains jurisdiction over the special
proceeding from which the appeal was taken for purposes of further remedies the
parties may avail of. Where multi-appeals are allowed, we see no reason why a
separate petition for certiorari cannot
be allowed on an interlocutory
aspect of the case that is separate and distinct as an issue from the aspect of
the case that has been adjudged with finality by the lower court. To
reiterate, the matter appealed matter was the special administrator's
commission, a charge that is effectively a claim against the estate under
administration, while the matter covered by the petition for certiorari was
the appointment of an auditor who would pass upon the special administrator's
final account. By their respective natures, these matters can exist
independently of one another and can proceed separately as envisioned by the
Rules under Rule 109.
No comments:
Post a Comment