Back

George Katon vs Manuel Palanca Jr.

GEORGE KATON, Petitioner, versus MANUEL PALANCA JR., LORENZO AGUSTIN, JESUS GAPILANGO and JUAN FRESNILLO, Respondents.

G.R. No. 151149 | 2004-09-07

DECISION

PANGANIBAN, J.:

Where prescription, lack of jurisdiction or failure to state a cause of action clearly appear from the complaint filed with the trial court, the action may be dismissed motu proprio by the Court of Appeals, even if the case has been elevated for review on different grounds. Verily, the dismissal of such cases appropriately ends useless litigations.

The Case

Before us is a Petition for Review[1] under Rule 45 of the Rules of Court, assailing the December 8, 2000 Decision[2] and the November 20, 2001 Resolution[3] of the Court of Appeals in CA-GR SP No. 57496. The assailed Decision disposed as follows:

Assuming that...