Carpio v Rural Bank of Sto. Tomas (Batangas), Inc.

Facts:

Rodolfo Carpio and Remedios Orendain filed with the RTC Batangas a complaint against Rural Bank and Jaime Ozaeta, clerk of court and sheriff of the same court. Petitioner alleges that they are absolute owners of a parcel of land in Sto. Tomas, Batangas. They obtained a loan of P515,000 from the Bank and executed a real estate mortgage over the same property. Without prior demand or notice to petitioners, Bank filed for extra-judicial foreclosure of the mortgage. Ozaeta then conducted a public auction where the Bank was the only bidder.

Petitioners allege that the sale was conducted without proper publication because the sheriff’s notice of sale was not published in a newspaper of general circulation, and that they were not given the opportunity to redeem the property. Bank filed an Answer with Counterclaim alleging that oral and written demands were made to petitioners, that there was proper publication, and that petitioners were given 2 years to redeem the property but they failed.

Petitioners then filed a motion to dismiss the counterclaim on the ground that the Bank’s counterclaim was not accompanied by a certification against forum shopping. Bank filed an opposition, contending that its counterclaim is compulsory, thereby needing no more certificate of forum shopping since it is not an initiatory pleading or complaint. RTC dismissed the motion to dismiss. CA affirmed.

Issue:

Whether or not counterclaim needs to be accompanied by a certificate of forum shopping.

Held:

No. Section 5,Rule 7 of the 1997 Rules of Civil Procedure distinctly provides that the required certification is intended to cover an initiatory pleading – meaning an incipient application of a party asserting a claim for relief. Rationale of this provision is to curb the malpractice of forum shopping.

In the case, the Bank’s Answer with Counterclaim is a responsive pleading, filed to counter petitioner’s complaint that initiates the civil action. The provision does not contemplate a defendant’s claim for relief that is derived from the main action or complaint.

*Petition denied

** Forum Shopping – an act of a party against whom an adverse judgment has been rendered in one forum of seeking and possibly getting a favorable opinion in another forum.