G.R. No. 186522 - ROWENA C. DE LEON AS SUBSTITUTED BY HER CHILDREN JOHN KEVIN C. DE LEON AND EISENHOWER CALLUMBA, VS. LOLITA CHU AND DOMINGO DELOS SANTOS.

Ruling

WHEREFORE, premises considered, judgment is hereby rendered in favor of the plaintiffs in Civil Case No. 2257 and against the plaintiff in LRC Case No. 1322, declaring the Deed of Sale dated March 19, 1993, and the Agreement of Subdivision dated April 30, 1993, as null and void and of no force and effect and ordering the Register of Deeds of Nueva Ecija to cancel TCT No. NT-228526 in the name of Rowena Amparo C. de Leon. Accordingly, LRC Case No. 1322 is hereby DISMISSED. Rowena appealed to the Court of Appeals ( CA ) and raised a lone assignment of error, to wit: THE HONORABLE COURT A QUO GRAVELY ERRED IN RENDERING A DECISION NOT IN ACCORD WITH EXISTING LAWS AND APPLICABLE JURISPRUDENCE BY DISMISSING L.R. CASE NO. 1322 AND INSTEAD GIVING DUE COURSE TO CIVIL CASE NO. 2257 DESPITE THE FACT THAT APPELLEES ARE GUILTY OF FORUM SHOPPING. [3] The CA denied the appeal in its Decision promulgated on 17 December 2007. The CA held that the dismissal of Civil Case No. 2257 was not warranted. The submission of a false certificate of non-forum shopping only constitutes indirect contempt and will not cause the immediate dismissal of the case unless a party deliberately committed forum shopping. The CA further held that Rowena failed to pursue the proper remedies to resolve the alleged submission of a false certificate of non-forum shopping. Moreover, she also filed a motion to consolidate Civil Case No. 2257 with LRC Case No. 1322, effectively absolving Domingo and Lolita from sanctions for the supposed forum shopping. Rowena moved for reconsideration, which the CA denied in a Resolution promulgated on 3 February 2009. Hence, the instant petition for review on certiorari . THE PETITION Rowena raises the following issues in her Assignment of Errors: [4] THE HONORABLE COURT OF APPEALS GRAVELY ERRED IN NOT FINDING THAT THE RESPONDENTS ARE GUILTY OF FORUM SHOPPING. THE HONORABLE COURT OF APPEALS GRAVELY ERRED IN AFFIRMING THE DECISION OF THE REGIONAL TRIAL COURT DESPITE THE FACT THAT NO COMPLETE RELIEF CAN BE HAD IN THE INSTANT CASE FOR THE RESPONDENT'S FAILURE TO INCLUDE IN HER COMPLAINT AN INDISPENSABLE PARTY. THE HONORABLE COURT OF APPEALS GRAVELY ERRED IN AFFIRMING THE DISMISSAL OF LRC CASE NO. 1322 DESPITE THE FACT THAT THE CERTIFICATE OF TITLE IN POSSESSION OF THE RESPONDENT BELONGS TO THE HEREIN PETITIONER. THE COURT OF APPEALS AND THE REGIONAL TRIAL COURT GRAVELY ERRED IN APPLYING THE RULES OF EVIDENCE IN FAVOR OF THE RESPONDENTS. THE COURT OF APPEALS AND THE REGIONAL TRIAL COURT GRAVELY ERRED IN NOT FINDING THE HEREIN PETITIONER AS A BUYER IN GOOD FAITH. OUR RULING The petition is without merit. Rule 7, Section 5 of the Rules of Court prescribes the rule on certificates of non-forum shopping. To wit: Section 5. Certification against forum shopping . - x x x Failure to comply with the foregoing requirements shall not be curable by mere amendment or the complaint or other initiatory pleading but shall be cause for the dismissal of the case without prejudice