CASE DIGEST: De Roy vs. Court of Appeals

 

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.