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    Abs CBN

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    Grise Sakul
    This case discusses whether the death of an accused extinguishes civil liabilities. The court ruled that the death of an accused pending appeal of a conviction extinguishes criminal liability and civil liability solely based on the offense. However, civil liability can survive if predicated on other sources of obligation besides the crime, such as law, contracts, or quasi-delicts. In this case, there was no criminal prosecution found for the respondents, so civil liability could not be based solely on a criminal action. For civil liability to survive, it must be pursued in a separate civil action based on other sources of obligation.

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    Abs CBN

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    Grise Sakul
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    This case discusses whether the death of an accused extinguishes civil liabilities. The court ruled that the death of an accused pending appeal of a conviction extinguishes criminal liability and civil liability solely based on the offense. However, civil liability can survive if predicated on other sources of obligation besides the crime, such as law, contracts, or quasi-delicts. In this case, there was no criminal prosecution found for the respondents, so civil liability could not be based solely on a criminal action. For civil liability to survive, it must be pursued in a separate civil action based on other sources of obligation.

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    April 23, 2010

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    ABS CBN

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    This case discusses whether the death of an accused extinguishes civil liabilities. The court ruled that the death of an accused pending appeal of a conviction extinguishes criminal liability and civil liability solely based on the offense. However, civil liability can survive if predicated on other sources of obligation besides the crime, such as law, contracts, or quasi-delicts. In this case, there was no criminal prosecution found for the respondents, so civil liability could not be based solely on a criminal action. For civil liability to survive, it must be pursued in a separate civil action based on other sources of obligation.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    20 views2 pages

    Abs CBN

    Uploaded by

    Grise Sakul
    This case discusses whether the death of an accused extinguishes civil liabilities. The court ruled that the death of an accused pending appeal of a conviction extinguishes criminal liability and civil liability solely based on the offense. However, civil liability can survive if predicated on other sources of obligation besides the crime, such as law, contracts, or quasi-delicts. In this case, there was no criminal prosecution found for the respondents, so civil liability could not be based solely on a criminal action. For civil liability to survive, it must be pursued in a separate civil action based on other sources of obligation.

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    of 2

    ABS CBN Broadcasting Corporation Vs Office of the Ombudsman, 569 SCRA 59, G.R. No.

    133347, April 23, 2010

    Facts:
    On April 18 and 26, 1994, petitioners Eugenio Jr., Oscar and Augusto Lopez, on behalf of ABS-
    CBN, executed separate affidavits charging private respondents of Execution of Deeds by Means
    of Violation or Intidmidation, Estafa, Theft, Robbery, Occupation of Real Property or Usurpation
    of Real Rights in Property, and Other Deceits.

    On April 5, 1999 and June 13, 2000, the respective counsel for respondents Tan and Benedicto
    informed the Court of their clients’ demise. Benedicto’s counsel filed a Notice of Death with
    Prayer for Dismissal moving that Benedicto be dropped as respondent in the case for the
    reason that the pending criminal cases are actions which do not survive the death of the party
    accused.

    Petitioners opposed the move to drop Benedicto as respondent citing Torrijos Vs Court of
    Appeals, which held that “civil liability of the accused survives his death: because death is not a
    valid cause for the extinguishment of civil obligations.”

    Issue:
    Whether or not the death of an accused extinguishes civil liabilities

    Ruling:
    Death of an accused pending appeal of his conviction extinguishes his criminal liability as well as
    the civil liability based solely thereon. As opined by Justice Regalado, in this regard, “the death
    of the accused prior to final judgment terminates his criminal liability and only the civil liability
    directly arising from and based solely on the offense committed, i.e., civil liability ex delicto in
    senso strictiore.”

    Corollarily, the claim for civil liability survives notwithstanding the death of accused, if the same
    may also be predicated on a source of obligation other than delict. Article 1157 of the Civil Code
    enumerates these other sources of obligation from which the civil liability may arise as a result
    of the same act or omission:

    a. Law
    b. Contracts
    c. Quasi-contracts
    d. x x x
    e. Quasi-delicts
    Where the civil liability survives, an action for recovery therefor may be pursued but only by
    way of filing a separate civil action and subject to Sec. 1, Rule 11 of the 1985 ROC. The separate
    civil action may be enforced either against the executor/administrator or the estate of the
    accused, depending on the source of obligation upon which the same is based.

    Finally, the private offended party need not fear a forfeiture of his right to file this separate civil
    action by prescription, in cases where during the prosecution of the criminal action and prior to
    its extinction, the private-offended party instituted together therewith the civil action. In such
    case, the statute of limitations on the civil liability is deemed interrupted during the pendency
    of the criminal case, conformably with provisions of Article 1155 of the Civil Code, that should
    thereby avoid any apprehension on a possible deprivation of right by prescription.”

    Applying the foregoing rules, ABS-CBN’s insistence that the case at bench survives because the
    civil liability of the respondents subsists is stripped of merit.

    To begin with, there is no criminal case as yet against the respondents. The Ombudsman did
    not find probable cause to prosecute respondents for various felonies in the RPC. As such, the
    rule that a civil action is deemed instituted along with the criminal action unless the offended
    party: (a) waives the civil action, (b) reserves the right to institute it separately, or (c) institutes
    the civil action prior to the criminal action, is not applicable.

    In any event, the death of the accused necessarily calls for the dismissal of the criminal case
    against him, regardless of the institution of the civil case with it. The civil action which survives
    the death of the accused must hinge on other sources of obligation provided in Article 1157 of
    the Civil Code. In such a case, a surviving civil action against the accused founded on other
    sources of obligation must be prosecuted in a separate civil action. In other words, civil liability
    based solely on the criminal action is extinguished, and a different civil action cannot be
    continued and prosecuted in the same criminal action.

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