G.R. NO. 153777 - PLANTERS DEVELOPMENT BANK, VS. LZK HOLDINGS AND DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION.D E C I S I O N - Supreme Court E-Library

Ruling

WHEREFORE, it is respectfully prayed that judgment be rendered in favor of plaintiff LZK and against defendant-bank, as follows: On the First Cause of Action, declaring as null and void, the real estate mortgage executed on 16 December 1996 by plaintiff LZK; On the Second Cause of Action, declaring as a nullity, Promissory Notes Nos. 97-53-029 and 97-53-030, both dated 24 February 1997; On the Third Cause of Action, ruling that the extrajudicial foreclosure of Transfer Certificate of Title No. T-45337, as being void and without legal effect, as well as the Certificate of Sale executed by Notary Public Melchor Abasolo; On the Fourth Cause of Action, holding defendant-bank liable for moral damages in the amount of not less than P10,000,000.00; On the Fifth Cause of Action, adjudging exemplary damages against defendant-bank, in the amount of P500,000.00; On the Sixth Cause of Action, declaring defendant liable for attorneys fees and cost of litigation in favor of plaintiff LZK, in the amount of P500,000.00, and the additional amount of P5,000.00 for every court attendance of plaintiff LZKs counsel. Other reliefs just and equitable under the premises are likewise prayed for. [12] The PDB filed in due course its answer, [13] traversing the material allegations thereof and interposing a counterclaim for attorneys fees and costs. After a reply [14] to the answer had been filed, the LHDC moved [15] that the case be set for a pre-trial conference, [16] after which the parties submitted their respective pre-trial briefs. [17] On January 14, 2000, just before the scheduled pre-trial, the LHDC filed a Motion for Leave [18] to file a Supplemental Complaint [19] to cover occurrences subsequent to the original complaint. It alleged that after the filing of the original complaint, it agreed in principle to enter into a contract of lease with a prospective lessee, AMA Computer College, over three floors of the AGZ Building, but the latter required it to first secure the petitioners consent. The LHDC thus wrote the PDB, requesting its consent to the said lease. However, the latter gave unreasonable conditions in its reply, thus: (a) AMA Computer College shall remit to defendant PDB all the stipulated rental deposits and advance rentals; (b) Plaintiff withdraws or drops the criminal complaint for falsification and perjury against Mr. Mauro Tividad, an officer of defendant PDB, then pending with the Office of the City Prosecutor of Makati; and (c) all documents shall be subject to review by defendant-bank. [20] This prompted the AMA Computer College to back-out from the contract. Furthermore, the PDB wrote each and every tenant of the LHDC, demanding that they directly remit their respective rentals to it. Worse still, the PDB, which was leasing a space in the same building for its branch, had ceased paying its rentals, on the pretext that it was setting-off the same against the loan deficiency of the LHDC. In fact, according to the LHDC, the PDB had ceased pa