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Complaint

difference of civil and criminal complaint

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43 views

Complaint

difference of civil and criminal complaint

Uploaded by

Nitz Phil
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Complaint

I. Civil Procedure

1. What is a Complaint?

Complaint is the pleading alleging the plaintiff‘s cause or causes of action, stating therein the
names and residences of the plaintiff and defendant (Sec. 3, Rule 6).
It is a concise statement of the ultimate facts constituting the plaintiff’s cause or causes of
action, with a specification of the relief sought, but it may add a general prayer for such further
relief as may be deemed just or equitable.

2. What is a Cause of Action?


Sec. 2 Rule 2 of the rules of court defines a cause of action as the act or omission by which a
party violates the rights of another.
A cause of action involves a right of the plaintiff and violation of this right by the defendant. The
rules refer to it as an act or omission by which a party violates the rights of another. Without a
violation of this rights there can be no cause of action and, without this cause of action, there
would be no right to invoke the rules of procedure and file a law suit against the defendant. The
right to file a suit is called right to file an action. There is no right to file an action if there is
no cause of action.

3. Requisites of Cause of action:


1. The existence of a legal right of the plaintiff
2. A correlative duty of the defendant to respect one’s right
3. An act or omission of the defendant in violation of the plaintiff’s right.

4. What are Ultimate facts?


They refer to the essential facts of the claim. A fact is essential if it cannot be stricken out
without leaving the statement of the cause of action insufficient. (Ceroferr Realty Corporation vs.
Court of Appeals, 376 SCRA 144)
The ultimate facts which are to be pleaded are the issuable, constitutive or traversable facts
essential of the state of action; the facts which evidence on the trial will prove, and not the
evidence which will be required to prove the existence of facts, The principal , if not the only way
to determine what is an ultimate fact is by the precedent.
5. Where to file the complaint?

a. Jurisdiction
The court that should take cognizant of the cause of action should be determined before filing a
complaint. This involves an inquiry into the laws on jurisdiction because the plaintiff is, as a
fundamental principle, obligated to file his complaint with the court vested with jurisdiction over
the subject matter of the action.
Eg. Actions wherein the subject matter is not capable of pecuniary estimation should be filed
with the RTC not in MTC

b. Venue
Real Action - Venue of action shall be commenced and tried in the proper court which has
jurisdiction over the area wherein the real property involved, or a portion thereof is situated.
(Rule 4, sec 1)
Personal Action -Venue of action is the place where the plaintiff or any of the principal plaintiffs
resides or any of the defendants resides, at the election of the plaintiff (Rule 2 sec 2)

6. Who can file a complaint?


The complaint is first pleading filed with the court by a party called the plaintiff. To be a plaintiff
one should be a real party in interest.
A real party in interest is the party who stands to be benefited or injured by the judgment in the
suit, or the party entitled to the avails of the suit (Sec. 2 Rule 3)

7. Prescription and Condition precedent

Prescription
One principle consistently applied by courts is: When it appears from the pleading or the
evidence on record that the action has prescribed, the court is mandated by the rules the claim.
When dismissed on the ground of prescription the refiling of the same action or claim is barred.
Eg. Art 114 of the Civil Code actions upon a written contract, an obligation created by law, or a
judgement, prescribe after 10 years from the time the cause of action accrues.
Condition precedent
Condition precedent refers to matters which must be complied with before a cause of action
arises. When a claim is subject to a condition precedent, the compliance of the same must be
alleged in the pleading. Otherwise it will be a ground for dismissal. For example, An action for
collection of sum of money, must be preceded by a demand pursuant to Art 1169 of the Civil
Code.

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8. Parts of the Complaint (pleading)

A)Caption.
The caption sets forth the name of the court, the title of the action, and the docket number if
assigned.
It should indicate the names of the parties. They shall all be named in the original complaint or
petition but in subsequent pleadings, it shall be sufficient if the name of the first party on each
side be stated with an appropriate indication when there are other parties. (Sec. 1, Rule 7)

B) The body. — The body of the pleading sets fourth its designation, the allegations of the party's
claims or defenses, the relief prayed for, and the date of the pleading.
C) Signature and address. — Every pleading must be signed by the party or counsel representing
him, stating in either case his address which should not be a post office box.
D) Verification. — Except when otherwise specifically required by law or rule, pleadings need not
be under oath, verified or accompanied by affidavit
E) Certification against non-forum shopping? . — It is a mandatory requirement in filing a
complaint and other initiatory pleadings asserting a claim or relief (Sec. 5, Rule 7).

II Criminal Procedure
A complaint is a sworn written statement charging a person with an offense, subscribed by the
offended party, any peace officer, or other public officer charged with the enforcement of the law
violated. (3) -Sec. Rule 110 -

1. Who can file a complaint?

• Offended party
• Any peace officer
• Other public officer chartered with the enforcement of the law violated

2. When to file a complaint

a. Where a preliminary investigation is required, a criminal action is instituted by filing the


complaint with the proper officer for the purpose of conducting the requisite preliminary
investigation.
b. Where a preliminary investigation is not required, a criminal action is instituted either:
o By filing the complaint or information directly with the Municipal Trial Court of
Municipal Circuit Trail Court;

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o By filing the complaint with the office of the prosecutor. (Section 1, Rule 110,
Rulesof Court)
c. For Metro Manila and other chartered cities, the complaint shall be filed with the
prosecutor regardless of the imposable penalty (Section 1, Rule 110, Rules of Court)
d. Cases falling within the jurisdiction of the RTC are always commenced by information
filed by the prosecutor.

3. Contents of a Complaint

• Name of the accused;


• designation of the offense given by the statute
• Acts or omissions complained of as constituting the offense;
• name of the offended party;
• the approximate date of the commission of the offense;
• and the place where the offense was committed.

CASE: G.R. No. 198647


SN ABOITIZ POWER-MAGAT, INC vs. THE MUNICIPALITY OF ALFONSO LISTA, IFUGAO,
represented by the Municipal Mayor,
Municipality of Alfonso Lista, Ifugao filed an Amended Complaint, alleging that the National
Power Corporation (NPC) fraudulently secured Special Patent No. 3723 by making it appear in
the survey plans that certain parcels of land were located in Barangay General Aguinaldo,
Ramon, Isabela when these parcels of land were actually located in Barangay Sto. Domingo in
Alfonso Lista, Ifugao. Such parcels of land was later on transferred the same to petitioner SN
Aboitiz Power Magat.

In its amended complaint, respondent prayed for the declaration of nullity of Special Patent
because the same were void for failure to reflect the true location of the subject parcels of land.
Respondent also averred that the Register of Deeds of Isabela, which registered the subject
patent, did not have the authority to do so because it had no jurisdiction over the parcels of land
covered by the same.

In the alternative, respondent municipality prayed that the wordings of Special Patent and the
subsequent titles derived therefrom be amended to reflect the true location of the subject
parcels of land, which is Brgy. Sto. Domingo in Alfonso Lista, Ifugao.

Respondent municipality emphasized that it was asserting its right of jurisdiction, not ownership,
over the land, which was violated by the issuance of said patent.

Instead of filing an Answer, SNAP, as successor-in-interest of NPC, filed a Motion to Dismiss12


dated November 19, 2008 on the grounds of prescription and failure to state a cause of action.
Moreover, petitioner maintained that it had a valid title, i.e. TCT No. TSC-16666, to the subject
property.

RTC and CA Denied the Motion to Dismiss.

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ISSUE: whether or not the dismissal of the case is proper.

HELD:

The dismissal is improper, Motion to Dismiss should be granted.


It is a settled jurisprudence that a cause of action has three elements, to wit:
(1) a right in favor of the plaintiff by whatever means and under whatever law it arises or is
created; (2) an obligation on the part of the named defendant to respect or not to violate
such right; and (3) an act or omission on the part of such defendant violative of the right of
the plaintiff or constituting a breach of the obligation of the defendant to the plaintiff.
In an action for nullification of title or declaration of its nullity, the complaint mustcontain the
following allegations for the sufficiency of cause of action: (1) that the claimant is the
owner of the subject land prior to the issuance of the title to the defendant; and (2)
that fraud or mistake was perpetrated in obtaining said title over the subject land

It is NECESSARY that the claimant, who seeks to annul the patent and title, should have a pre-
existing right of ownership over the subject property as the claim of ownership is an element
thereof. In the absence of which, the claim of relief does not exist, which makes the case
dismissible
Without the claim of ownership, there was no supposed right upon which respondent
municipality may anchor its claim and which SNAP may violate. Verily, it is clear that the
amended complaint was insufficient for lack of cause of action.

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