MARIA TERESA CAYABYAB, PLAINTIFF-APPELLEE, VS. FEDERICO CLAR, DEFENDANT-APPELLANT.

Cayabyab versus Clar

The Case

This is the case of Maria Teresa Cayabyab, the plaintiff-appellee, against Federico Clar, the defendant-appellant. It is not a decision on the merits of their dispute but a resolution of a procedural turn: the defendant-appellant, having lost before the Regional Trial Court, appealed, and then changed his mind and asked to withdraw that appeal. The case matters to a reviewee because it shows, in the cleanest possible form, that the right to appeal is a statutory privilege that the appellant may himself surrender, and that once the appeal is withdrawn before the appellant's brief is filed, the judgment below stands and the case is closed. It is a short lesson in the life and death of an appeal.

Procedural History

The Regional Trial Court rendered a Decision dated February 27, 2014. From that decision, Federico Clar, the defendant, appealed to the Court of Appeals. While the appeal was pending, the Court of Appeals sent a Notice to File Appellant's Brief by registered mail on September 22, 2014, and the notice was received by his counsel on October 9, 2014. Instead of filing a brief, the defendant-appellant, through counsel, filed a Motion to Withdraw Appeal on November 14, 2014, manifesting that he was no longer interested in pursuing his appeal and praying that the appeal be considered withdrawn or dismissed. Attached to the motion was his own letter to his counsel, stating that he no longer wanted to pursue the appeal of the Regional Trial Court's decision. The Court of Appeals resolved the motion, and it is that resolution which is before us.

Facts

The plaintiff, Maria Teresa Cayabyab, obtained a favorable decision from the Regional Trial Court on February 27, 2014. The defendant, Federico Clar, appealed that decision to the Court of Appeals.

In the course of the appeal, the Court of Appeals required the appellant to file his appellant's brief. The notice was mailed on September 22, 2014 and reached his counsel on October 9, 2014. No brief followed.

On November 14, 2014, counsel for the defendant-appellant filed a Motion to Withdraw Appeal, manifesting that his client was no longer interested in pursuing the appeal and asking that it be considered withdrawn or dismissed. Annexed to the motion was the appellant's own letter to his counsel, confirming that he no longer wished to pursue the appeal. The Court of Appeals found the motion meritorious and granted it.

Issues

• Whether or not an appellant may withdraw his appeal before he files his appellant's brief.
• Whether or not the withdrawal of the appeal leaves the judgment of the Regional Trial Court standing and closes the case.

Applicable Provisions

Section 3 of Rule 50 of the 1997 Rules of Civil Procedure provides:

Section 3. Withdrawal of appeal. The appellant may withdraw his appeal at any time before the filing of his appellant's brief.

This is the provision the Court applies, and it fixes the precise moment before which the appeal may be withdrawn: any time before the appellant's brief is filed.

Ruling

On the first issue, the Court held that the appellant may withdraw his appeal at any time before the filing of his appellant's brief. The Court found the motion impressed with merit and granted it pursuant to Section 3 of Rule 50, which it quoted as allowing the appeal to be withdrawn at any time before the filing of the appellant's brief. Here, no appellant's brief had been filed; the appellant moved to withdraw instead of filing one, and he confirmed in his own letter that he no longer wanted to pursue the appeal.

On the second issue, the Court held that the withdrawal of the appeal carries the consequence that the appeal is considered withdrawn, and the case is declared closed and terminated. With the appeal gone, there is nothing left to review, and the judgment of the Regional Trial Court stands.

Doctrine

An appellant may withdraw his appeal at any time before the filing of his appellant's brief. This is the rule of Section 3 of Rule 50 of the 1997 Rules of Civil Procedure, and it is a rule of timing: the door closes once the appellant's brief is filed.

When the withdrawal is granted, the appeal is considered withdrawn and the case is declared closed and terminated. The practical consequence is that the judgment of the trial court is left undisturbed, because the appellate court never reaches the merits.

For the Bar candidate, the rule to write is simple: the right to appeal may be waived by the appellant himself, and a motion to withdraw appeal filed before the appellant's brief is filed should be granted, closing and terminating the case.

Disposition

The Court granted the Motion to Withdraw Appeal, considered the appeal withdrawn, and declared the case closed and terminated, leaving the Regional Trial Court's decision of February 27, 2014 standing.

Remember This

Memorize the line: the appellant may withdraw his appeal at any time before the filing of his appellant's brief, and the case is then closed and terminated. Examiners use this case for the timing rule of Section 3 of Rule 50 and for the consequence that a withdrawn appeal leaves the trial court's judgment standing.