Disclaimer: Hindi Nadiscuss Yung Rule 37 Mismo, Nagfocus Yung Case Sa Period of Appeal. I Suggest You

RULE 37- New Trial or Reconsideration
Disclaimer: Hindi nadiscuss yung Rule 37 mismo, nagfocus yung case sa period of appeal. I suggest you
read in full (maikli lang naman) kasi landmark case sya. :)
Neypes vs. CA
GR. No. 141524; Sept. 14, 2005
FACTS: Petitioners Domingo Neypes et. al. filed an action for annulment of judgment and titles of land
and/or reconveyance and/or reversion with preliminary injunction before the RTC, against the Bureau of
Forest Development, Bureau of Lands, private respondents Land Bank of the Philippines and the heirs of
Bernardo del Mundo, namely, Fe, Corazon, Josefa, Salvador and Carmen.
The parties filed various motions with the trial court. Later on, RTC dismissed petitioners' complaint on the
ground that the action had already prescribed. Petitioners allegedly received a copy of the following order:
 On March 3, 1998 a copy of the order of dismissal

 on the 15th day or on March 18, 1998, filed a motion for reconsideration.
 On July 1, 1998, the trial court issued another order dismissing the motion for
reconsideration which petitioners received on July 22, 1998.
 Five days later, on July 27, 1998, petitioners filed a notice of appeal and paid the appeal fees on
August 3, 1998.

RTC denied the notice of appeal, holding that it was filed 8 days late. Petitioners filed a MR but was
denied. Petitioners assailed the dismissal of the notice of appeal before the CA, arguing that the 15-day
reglementary period to appeal started to run only on July 22, 1998 the day they received the final order
denying their MR. When they filed their notice of appeal on July 27, 1998, only five days had elapsed and
they were well within the reglementary period for appeal. CA dismissed the petition ruling that the 15-day
period to appeal should have been reckoned from March 3, 1998 or the day they received order dismissing
their complaint because the order was the 'final order appealable under the Rules. Petitioners filed an MR
which was denied. Hence, this petition for review under Rule 45.

ISSUE/s: 1. WON the July 1, 1998 order dismissing the MR was the final order- YES.
2. WON the petitioners have filed their notice of appeal within the reglementary period.-YES.
RULING:
As to the Final Judgement or Oder
The right to appeal is neither a natural right nor a part of due process. It is merely a statutory privilege and
may be exercised only in the manner and in accordance with the provisions of law.The period to appeal is
fixed by both statute and procedural rules. BP 129, [11] as amended, provides:

Sec. 39. Appeals. 'The period for appeal from final orders, resolutions, awards, judgments, or
decisions of any court in all these cases shall be fifteen (15) days counted from the notice of
the final order, resolution, award, judgment, or decision appealed from. Provided, however,
that in habeas corpus cases, the period for appeal shall be (48) forty-eight hours from the
notice of judgment appealed from. x x x

Rule 41, Section 3 of the 1997 Rules of Civil Procedure states:

SEC. 3. Period of ordinary appeal. ― The appeal shall be taken within fifteen (15) days
from the notice of the judgment or final order appealed from. Where a record on appeal
is required, the appellant shall file a notice of appeal and a record on appeal within thirty (30)
days from the notice of judgment or final order.

The period to appeal shall be interrupted by a timely motion for new trial or reconsideration.
No motion for extension of time to file a motion for new trial or reconsideration shall be
allowed. (emphasis supplied)

Based on the foregoing, an appeal should be taken within 15 days from the notice of judgment or final order
appealed from. A final judgment or order is one that finally disposes of a case, leaving nothing more for
the court to do with respect to it. It is an adjudication on the merits which, considering the evidence
presented at the trial, declares categorically what the rights and obligations of the parties are; or it may be
an order or judgment that dismisses an action.

Based on the previous rulings of the Court, the “final order”, receipt of which triggers the start of the 15-day
reglementary period to appeal, is the order denying petitioner’s motion for reconsideration which finally
disposed of the issues involved in the case. Hence, we sustain petitioners' view that the order dated July 1,
1998 denying their motion for reconsideration was the final order contemplated in the Rules.
Filing of notice of appeal (Fresh Period Rule)
Under Rule 41, Section 3, petitioners had 15 days from notice of judgment or final order to appeal the
decision of the trial court. On the 15th day of the original appeal period (March 18, 1998), petitioners did not
file a notice of appeal but instead opted to file a motion for reconsideration. According to the trial court, the
MR only interrupted the running of the 15-day appeal period. It ruled that petitioners, having filed their MR
on the last day of the 15-day reglementary period to appeal, had only one (1) day left to file the notice of
appeal upon receipt of the notice of denial of their MR. Petitioners, however, argue that they were entitled
under the Rules to a fresh period of 15 days from receipt of the 'final order or the order dismissing their
motion for reconsideration.

To standardize the appeal periods provided in the Rules and to afford litigants fair opportunity to appeal
their cases, the Court deems it practical to allow a fresh period of 15 days within which to file the notice
of appeal in the Regional Trial Court, counted from receipt of the order dismissing a motion for a new trial
or motion for reconsideration.

Henceforth, this fresh period rule shall also apply to Rule 40 governing appeals from the MTC to the RTC;
Rule 42, Rule 43 and Rule 45. The new rule aims to regiment or make the appeal period uniform, to be
counted from receipt of the order denying the motion for new trial (Rule 37), motion for reconsideration
(whether full or partial) or any final order or resolution.
We thus hold that petitioners seasonably filed their notice of appeal within the fresh period of 15 days,
counted from July 22, 1998 (the date of receipt of notice denying their motion for reconsideration). This
pronouncement is not inconsistent with Rule 41, Section 3 of the Rules which states that the appeal shall
be taken within 15 days from notice of judgment or final order appealed from. The use of the disjunctive
word 'or signifies disassociation and independence of one thing from another. Hence, the provision
supposes that the notice of appeal may be filed within 15 days from the notice of judgment or within 15
days from notice of the 'final order, which we already determined to refer to the July 1, 1998 order denying
the motion for a new trial or reconsideration.

Neither does this new rule run counter to the spirit of Section 39 of BP 129 which shortened the appeal
period from 30 days to 15 days to hasten the disposition of cases. The original period of appeal (in this
case March 3-18, 1998) remains and the requirement for strict compliance still applies. The fresh period of
15 days becomes significant only when a party opts to file a motion for new trial or motion for
reconsideration. In this manner, the trial court which rendered the assailed decision is given another
opportunity to review the case and, in the process, minimize and/or rectify any error of judgment. While we
aim to resolve cases with dispatch and to have judgments of courts become final at some definite time, we
likewise aspire to deliver justice fairly.

Disclaimer: Hindi Nadiscuss Yung Rule 37 Mismo, Nagfocus Yung Case Sa Period of Appeal. I Suggest You

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Disclaimer: Hindi Nadiscuss Yung Rule 37 Mismo, Nagfocus Yung Case Sa Period of Appeal. I Suggest You

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Disclaimer: Hindi Nadiscuss Yung Rule 37 Mismo, Nagfocus Yung Case Sa Period of Appeal. I Suggest You

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

RULE 37- New Trial or Reconsideration

 On March 3, 1998 a copy of the order of dismissal

As to the Final Judgement or Oder

Filing of notice of appeal (Fresh Period Rule)

You might also like