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CMTC v. BHAGIS INTERNATIONAL TRADING CORPORATION

FACTS:

The petitioner filed a Complaint for Unfair Competition and/or Copyright Infringement and Claim for Damages with Prayer for Temporary Restraining Order and Writ of Preliminary Injunction against the respondent before the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Makati. On February 14, 2005, the trial court dismissed the complaint. The petitioner then filed a Notice of Appeal before the Court of Appeals (CA) on March 4, 2005.

The CA issued a Notice to File the Appellant's Brief on May 20, 2005. However, the petitioner failed to file the appellant's brief within the prescribed period. As a result, on August 19, 2005, the CA issued a Resolution dismissing the appeal as abandoned. The petitioner filed a Motion for Reconsideration with Motion to Admit Appellant's Brief, but it was denied by the CA on November 15, 2005.

Dissatisfied with the CA's resolutions, the petitioner filed a petition for review on certiorari before the Supreme Court. The petitioner argued that the CA should have considered the merits of the appeal instead of simply dismissing it based on procedural technicalities. The petitioner also asserted that the trial court erred in its ruling on the case.

ISSUES:

  1. Whether the Court of Appeals gravely committed an error in dismissing petitioner's appeal for failing to file the appellant's brief on time without considering the merits of the appeal.

  2. Whether petitioner's appeal should be reinstated in the interest of substantive justice.

RULING:

  1. The Court of Appeals did not commit a reversible error in dismissing petitioner's appeal. The failure of the appellant to file the required number of copies of the appellant's brief within the prescribed time is a ground for dismissal under the Rules of Court.

  2. Petitioner's appeal should not be reinstated. The Court of Appeals correctly ruled that the transgressions regarding the filing of the appellant's brief could not be tolerated as strict compliance with the periods under the Rules of Court is necessary. The errors of the trial court should have been presented in the appellant's brief, but the failure to file it on time resulted in the appeal being considered abandoned.

PRINCIPLES:

  • The failure to file the required number of copies of the appellant's brief within the prescribed time is a ground for dismissal under the Rules of Court.

  • Strict compliance with the periods under the Rules of Court is necessary to ensure the orderly administration of justice.

  • Transgressions regarding the filing of pleadings and briefs would not be tolerated as it may result in the evasion of prescribed periods and undermine the effectiveness of the rules.