This case has been cited 3 times or more.
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2001-03-26 |
BUENA, J. |
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| It is error for the petitioners to claim that the case should fall under the jurisdiction of the Securities and Exchange Commission [SEC, for brevity]. The controversy does not in anyway involve the election/appointment of officers of petitioner MCHC, as claimed by petitioners in their assignment of errors. Respondent Zosa's amended complaint focuses heavily on the illegality of the Employment Agreement's "Arbitration Clause" initially invoked by him in seeking his termination benefits under Section 8 of the employment contract. And under Republic Act No. 876, otherwise known as the "Arbitration Law," it is the regional trial court which exercises jurisdiction over questions relating to arbitration. We thus advert to the following discussions made by the Court of Appeals, speaking thru Justice Minerva P. Gonzaga-Reyes,[25] in C.A.-G.R. S.P. No. 43059, viz:"As regards the fourth assigned error, asserting that jurisdiction lies with the SEC, which is raised for the first time in this petition, suffice it to state that the Amended Complaint squarely put in issue the question whether the Arbitration Clause is valid and effective between the parties. Although the controversy which spawned the action concerns the validity of the termination of the service of a corporate officer, the issue on the validity and effectivity of the arbitration clause is determinable by the regular courts, and do not fall within the exclusive and original jurisdiction of the SEC. | |||||
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2001-03-26 |
BUENA, J. |
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| "The determination and validity of the agreement is not a matter intrinsically connected with the regulation and internal affairs of corporations (see Pereyra vs. IAC, 181 SCRA 244; Sales vs. SEC, 169 SCRA 121); it is rather an ordinary case to be decided in accordance with the general laws, and do not require any particular expertise or training to interpret and apply (Viray vs. CA, 191 SCRA 308)."[26] Furthermore, the decision of the Court of Appeals in CA-G.R. SP No. 43059 affirming the trial court's assumption of jurisdiction over the case has become the "law of the case" which now binds the petitioners. The "law of the case" doctrine has been defined as "a term applied to an established rule that when an appellate court passes on a question and remands the cause to the lower court for further proceedings, the question there settled becomes the law of the case upon subsequent appeal."[27] To note, the CA's decision in CA-G.R. SP No. 43059 has already attained finality as evidenced by a Resolution of this Court ordering entry of judgment of said case, to wit:"ENTRY OF JUDGMENT | |||||
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2001-03-26 |
BUENA, J. |
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| "The determination and validity of the agreement is not a matter intrinsically connected with the regulation and internal affairs of corporations (see Pereyra vs. IAC, 181 SCRA 244; Sales vs. SEC, 169 SCRA 121); it is rather an ordinary case to be decided in accordance with the general laws, and do not require any particular expertise or training to interpret and apply (Viray vs. CA, 191 SCRA 308)."[26] Furthermore, the decision of the Court of Appeals in CA-G.R. SP No. 43059 affirming the trial court's assumption of jurisdiction over the case has become the "law of the case" which now binds the petitioners. The "law of the case" doctrine has been defined as "a term applied to an established rule that when an appellate court passes on a question and remands the cause to the lower court for further proceedings, the question there settled becomes the law of the case upon subsequent appeal."[27] To note, the CA's decision in CA-G.R. SP No. 43059 has already attained finality as evidenced by a Resolution of this Court ordering entry of judgment of said case, to wit:"ENTRY OF JUDGMENT | |||||