Section 20, Rule 14 of the Rules of Court
clearly states:
Sec. 20. Voluntary appearance. – The
defendant’s voluntary appearance in the action shall be equivalent to service
of summons. The inclusion in a motion to dismiss of other grounds aside from
lack of jurisdiction over the person shall not be deemed a voluntary
appearance.
In Philippine Commercial International Bank
v. Spouses Wilson Dy Hong Pi and Lolita Dy, we held that filing of an answer
in a special appearance cannot be construed as voluntary appearance or
submission to the court’s jurisdiction:
Preliminarily, jurisdiction over the
defendant in a civil case is acquired either by the coercive power of legal
processes exerted over his person, or his voluntary appearance in court. As a
general proposition, one who seeks an affirmative relief is deemed to have
submitted to the jurisdiction of the court. It is by reason of this rule that
we have had occasion to declare that the filing of motions to admit answer, for
additional time to file answer, for reconsideration of a default judgment, and
to lift order of default with motion for reconsideration, is considered voluntary
submission to the court’s jurisdiction. This, however, is tempered by the
concept of conditional appearance, such that a party who makes a special
appearance to challenge, among others, the court’s jurisdiction over his person
cannot be considered to have submitted to its authority.
Prescinding from the foregoing, it is thus
clear that:
(1) Special appearance operates as an
exception to the general rule on voluntary appearance;
(2) Accordingly, objections to the
jurisdiction of the court over the person of the defendant must be explicitly
made, i.e., set forth in an unequivocal manner; and
(3) Failure to do so constitutes voluntary
submission to the jurisdiction of the court, especially in instances where a
pleading or motion seeking affirmative relief is filed and submitted to the
court for resolution.
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