PHILIPPINES Law and Practice Contributed by: Elaine A. Atienza and Bianca Georgia T. Paloma, Villaraza & Angangco
Court of Appeals and thereafter to the Supreme Court. From filing to final Supreme Court resolution, the total proceedings in contested commercial cases may span five to ten years or more in complex matters. However, simpler disputes that are resolved at trial court level without further appeal may be concluded in two to three years. Factors such as court docket congestion and rescheduled hearings significantly affect the duration. 2.5 Confidentiality For commercial disputes, there is no general rule that hearings are confidential. However, the parties may apply for protective orders to limit the disclosure or publication of commercially sensitive information produced in the course of discovery or tendered into evidence, particularly trade secrets and proprietary business data. The courts have the authority to issue such protective orders under the applicable rules. This stands in contrast to arbitration, where confidentiality is the default under Section 23 of RA No 9285, or the ADR Act, and all proceedings, records and awards are treated as confidential unless the parties consent to disclosure or judicial intervention requires limited disclosure to the court. 2.6 Interim Relief A broad range of interim remedies is available to a This may be issued ex-parte for a maximum of 72 hours in cases of extreme urgency, and may be extended to 20 days after notice and a summary hear- ing. A Writ of Preliminary Injunction (WPI) is a more durable restraining order issued after a full hearing on notice, which remains effective during the pendency of the main case. Both remedies require the applicant to demonstrate a clear legal right, a material invasion litigant. These include the following. Temporary Restraining Order (TRO)
intent to defraud, or where the action is for recovery on a fraudulent transaction. Receivership This is available where there is a risk of dissipation of assets pending litigation, and is frequently sought in corporate rehabilitation cases. Replevin This enables a party to provisionally recover posses- sion of personal property. 2.7 Final Relief Monetary damages are the most common form of final relief. These include actual or compensatory damages (proven loss), moral damages (for mental anguish, besmirched reputation, or similar suffering in specific circumstances), nominal damages (for vio- lation of a right without actual loss), temperate dam- ages (where actual damages cannot be proved with certainty), liquidated damages (agreed by the parties in the contract), and exemplary or corrective dam- ages (as a deterrent where the defendant acted with malice, fraud or oppression). Attorney’s fees may also be awarded as part of the damages award under Arti- cle 2208 of the Civil Code in specified circumstanc- es. In intra-corporate disputes, the courts may grant final relief in the form of nullification or annulment of board resolutions, shareholder meetings, or corporate acts that are in violation of the law or the corpora- tion’s articles of incorporation or by-laws. The courts may also order reinstatement of improperly removed directors, the holding of elections, or the payment of dividends wrongfully withheld from minority stock- holders. Declaratory relief – a judgment declaring the legal rights and obligations of the parties – is avail- able where a justiciable controversy exists and there has been no breach. Specific performance may be ordered to compel a party to fulfil a contractual obliga- tion. Rescission or annulment of contracts is available where the law provides for it, restoring the parties to their positions before the transaction. 2.8 Damages The assessment of damages is governed primarily by Articles 2195 to 2235 of the Civil Code, and requires the claimant to prove both the fact of damage and the amount thereof by competent evidence.
of that right, and urgency. Preliminary Attachment
This places the defendant’s property under construc- tive court custody to secure the satisfaction of a potential judgment. It is particularly useful where there is reason to believe the defendant may conceal or dissipate assets, depart from the Philippines with the
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