De Roy vs. CA, G.R. No. 80718, January 29, 1988
FACTS:
The firewall of a
burned-out building owned by petitioners collapsed and destroyed the tailoring
shop occupied by the family of private respondents, resulting in injuries to
private respondents and the death of Marissa Bernal, a daughter. Private
respondents had been warned by petitioners to vacate their shop in view of its
proximity to the weakened wall but the former failed to do so. On the basis of
the foregoing facts, the RTC rendered judgment finding petitioners guilty of
gross negligence and awarding damages to private respondents. On appeal, the
decision of the trial court was affirmed in toto by the Court of Appeals.
On the last day of
the fifteen-day period to file an appeal, petitioners filed a motion for
extension of time to file a motion for reconsideration, which was eventually
denied by the appellate court. Petitioners filed their motion for
reconsideration on September 24, 1987 but this was denied.
The CA applied the
rule laid down in Habaluyas Enterprises, Inc. v. Japzon that the fifteen-day period
for appealing or for filing a motion for reconsideration cannot be extended.
Petitioners
contend that the rule enunciated in the Habaluyas case should not be made to
apply to the case at bar owing to the non-publication of the Habaluyas decision
in the Official Gazette as of the time the subject decision of the Court of
Appeals was promulgated.
ISSUE:
Whether or not
Supreme Court decisions need to be published in the Official Gazette
RULING:
Contrary to
petitioners' view, there is no law requiring the publication of Supreme Court
decisions in the Official Gazette before they can be binding and as a condition
to their becoming effective. It is the bounden duty of counsel as lawyer in
active law practice to keep abreast of decisions of the Supreme Court
particularly where issues have been clarified, consistently reiterated, and
published in the advance reports of Supreme Court decisions and in such
publications as the Supreme Court Reports Annotated (SCRA) and law journals.
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