G.R. NO. 134728 - REPUBLIC PLANTERS BANK, VS. RICARDO O. MONTINOLA, JR. AND RAMON MONFORT.[G.R. NO. 134794] RICARDO O. MONTINOLA, JR. AND RAMON MONFORT, VS. REPUBLIC PLANTERS BANK AND COURT OF APPEALS.D E C I S I O N - Supreme Court E-Library

Ruling

WHEREFORE, plaintiffs respectfully pray the Honorable Court, upon the filing of such bond as it may fix, to issue preliminary mandatory injunction ordering defendant to release to plaintiffs the balances of their loan accounts set out in paragraph 6 above; and after trial, to render judgment in favor of plaintiffs and against defendant, making said injunction permanent, and ordering defendant: (1) To pay plaintiffs actual damages in such amount as may be proved at the trial but not less than One Million Pesos (P1,000,000.00); (2) To pay plaintiffs exemplary and moral damages in such amounts as the Honorable Court may fix but not less than Five Hundred Thousand Pesos (P500,000.00) and One Million Pesos (P1,000,000.00), respectively; (3) To pay plaintiffs' attorney's fees and expenses of litigation in such amount as the Honorable Court may find reasonable but not less than Two Hundred Fifty Thousand Pesos (P250,000.00); (4) To grant plaintiffs such other or further relief as may be just and equitable; (5) With costs against defendant. In its answer, defendant RPB admits the existence of the crop loan credit line in favor of plaintiffs Montinola, Jr. and Monfort, as well as its refusal to release the requested amount of P30,000.00, giving as justifications therefor the plaintiffs' alleged violation of the terms and conditions of the parties' credit line agreement and their commission of acts antagonistic and derogatory to parties' bank-client relationship, evidently referring to the earlier Civil Case No. 16905, supra . RPB further claimed that its refusal to release more funds was consistent with its desire to protect its interest and that of its stockholders. After due proceedings, the trial court rendered judgment for Montinola, Jr. and Monfort, to wit: WHEREFORE, plaintiffs having duly proven that they have suffered actual damages in the amount of P1,500,000.00 defendant is ordered to pay the same to plaintiffs; by way of moral and exemplary damages in its wanton and malicious breach of contractual relation, defendant is also ordered to pay plaintiffs P1,500,000.00 and likewise the payment of attorney's fees in the amount of P350,000.00 plus costs. [3] Forthwith, RPB went to the CA whereat its appellate recourse was docketed as CA-G.R. CV No. 53762 . As stated at the threshold hereof, the CA, in its decision of July 24, 1998, affirmed the trial court's decision with modification, ratiocinating as follows: Appellant Bank, although admitting that it had indeed refused and denied plaintiff-appellees' request for the release of P30,000.00 from the crop credit line, justifies its action by claiming that plaintiffs-appellees had violated the terms and conditions of their contract agreement by showing that plaintiffs-appellees had an outstanding debt incurred from the previous crop year. It appears, however, that appellant Bank had released several amounts on various occasions during the early part of 1982 in favor of plaintiffs-appellees pursuant to t