G.R. No. 120334 - NORTHWEST AIRLINES, INC., VS. COURT OF APPEALS AND ROLANDO I. TORRES. [G.R. NO. 120337. JANUARY 20, 1998]

Ruling

Accordingly, the Court of Appeals affirmed the trial courts finding as to the right of TORRES to actual damages but set aside the rest of the appealed decision. It then remanded the case to the court a quo for further proceedings. On 23 May 1995, the Court of Appeals denied [10] NORTHWESTs motion for a partial reconsideration of the decision. Hence, the present petitions. NORTHWEST contests the right of TORRES to actual damages on the following grounds: (1) the loss of firearms was disputed; (2) the finding of willful misconduct was arbitrary; and (3) TORRES failed to produce a United States license for the shipment of the firearms; hence, the importation was illegal and no damages could arise therefrom. TORRES, on the other hand, claims that the Court of Appeals erred (1) in setting aside the appealed decision of the court a quo as to the awards of damages, attorneys fees, and cost of suit; (2) in remanding the case to the court a quo for further proceedings; and (3) in failing to award other damages for breach of contract and willful misconduct committed by Northwest for mishandling the cargo. NORTHWESTs Motion to Dismiss (By Way of Demurrer to Evidence) with Motion for Summary Judgment involved two distinct and separate processes, viz: (1) demurrer to evidence, which was then governed by Rule 35, now by Rule 33; and (2) motion for summary judgment, which was then governed by Rule 34, now Rule 35, of the Rules of Court. The subject of the demurrer were the claims for moral, exemplary, and temperate damages and attorneys fees; while the target of the motion for summary judgment was the claim for actual damages. We agree with the Court of Appeals in its holding that the trial court erred in deciding the entire case on its merits. Indeed, as to the demurrer to evidence, the trial court should have been solely guided by the procedure laid down in the abovementioned rule on demurrer to evidence. It had no choice other than to grant or to deny the demurrer. It could not, without committing grave abuse of discretion amounting to excess of jurisdiction, deny the motion and then forthwith grant TORRES claims on a finding that TORRES has established a preponderance of evidence in support of such claims. In the instant case, the trial court did just that insofar as moral damages, attorneys fees, and expenses of litigation were concerned. What it should have done was to merely deny the demurrer and set a date for the reception of NORTHWESTs evidence in chief. As to the motion for summary judgment, both the trial court and the Court of Appeals were in error . Summary judgments were formerly governed by Rule 34 of the Rules of Court. The rule is now Rule 35 of the 1987 Rules of Civil Procedure with the amendments allowing the parties to submit not only affidavits but also depositions or admissions in support of their respective contentions. [11] Motions for summary judgment may be filed by the claimant or by the defending party. Sections 1, 2, and 3