TL;DR — Ruling
In view of the foregoing, Ocampo-Ferrer filed a complaint [17] before the RTC-Las Piñas, Branch 198 (RTC-Las Piñas Br. 198) seeking the annulment of the sheriffs sale, as well as payment of damages, docketed as Civil Case No. LP-07-0037.
Accordingly, the RTC-Las Piñas Br. 275 issued an Order [8] dated December 10, 2004, adopting and approving the said Agreement as the Decision in Civil Case No. LP-03-0088. [9] Despite the foregoing, Ocampo-Ferrer still failed to comply with her obligation, thus, compelling Del Rosario to move for execution, [10] which was granted by the RTC-Las Piñas Br. 275 in an Order [11] dated December 16, 2005. After the issuance of the Writ of Execution, [12] petitioner Sheriff Josefmo Ortiz (Sheriff Ortiz) of RTC-Las Piñas Br. 275 issued a Demand/Notice to Pay [13] to Ocampo-Ferrer, which the latter failed to act upon. This prompted Sheriff Ortiz to levy Ocampo-Ferrer's parcel of land located in Las Piñas, covered by TCT No. 30480, [14] and to schedule the public auction of said land. At the auction sale, Del Rosario came out as the sole and highest bidder, and consequently, a Certificate of Sale [15] dated February 20, 2006 was issued in his favor. [16] In view of the foregoing, Ocampo-Ferrer filed a complaint [17] before the RTC-Las Piñas, Branch 198 (RTC-Las Piñas Br. 198) seeking the annulment of the sheriffs sale, as well as payment of damages, docketed as Civil Case No. LP-07-0037. In her complaint, Ocampo-Ferrer claimed that Del Rosario and Sheriff Ortiz committed unlawful acts in enforcing the writ of execution in Civil Case No. LP-03-0088. [18] For their part, [19] petitioners vehemently denied the accusations against them. They likewise averred that: (a) the complaint was barred by prior judgment in Civil Case No. LP-03-0088 and that Ocampo-Ferrer never challenged the same; and (b) the subject matter of Civil Case No. LP-07-0037 is not within the jurisdiction of RTC-Las Piñas Br. 198 as it is a coequal court of RTC-Las Piñas Br. 275. [20] The RTC-Las Piñas Br. 198 Ruling In a Decision [21] dated November 9, 2012, the RTC-Las Piñas Br. 198 dismissed the case for lack of merit and ordered Del Rosario to return the owner's duplicate copy of TCT No. T-165897 to Ocampo-Ferrer. It found that Ocampo-Ferrer failed to prove that the actions taken by Del Rosario and Sheriff Ortiz in enforcing the compromise judgment in Civil Case No. LP-03-0088 - by levying the property covered by TCT No. 30480 and its consequent auction sale - were unlawful and illegal. Since the levy and auction sale operated to extinguish Ocampo-Ferrer's obligation to Del Rosario, the RTC-Las Piñas Br. 198 ordered the latter to return to the former the owner's duplicate copy of TCT No. T-165897 in accordance with the aforesaid compromise judgment. [22] Ocampo-Ferrer moved for reconsideration [23] but the same was denied in an Order [24] dated February 8, 2013. Aggrieved, she appealed to the CA. [25] The CA Ruling In a Decision [26] dated May 27, 2014, the CA reversed and set aside the ruling of the RTC-Las Piñas Br. 198 and, accordingly, declared null and void the following: (a) the levy performed by Sheriff Ortiz on the property covered by TCT No. 30480 and the consequent auction sale