Legal Insights
Plain-language guides and case briefs on Philippine law — researched from the firm's law library of 184,000+ statutes, Supreme Court decisions, and agency issuances, and written so non-lawyers can understand and act on them.
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Judicial Accountability: When Judges Face Administrative Complaints and Their Consequences
Explore the Supreme Court's ruling on judicial accountability, administrative complaints against judges, and when suspension or dismissal is warranted.
Compromise Agreements When Concealed Property Values Invalidate Settlements
Philippine Supreme Court ruling on when concealed property values in compromise agreements constitute extrinsic fraud that invalidates settlements.
Injunctions in Land Disputes: The Need for a Clear Legal Right
Philippine Supreme Court ruling on when preliminary injunctions may issue in land disputes, requiring a clear and unmistakable right.
When Time Is Not of the Essence: Contractual Delay and Obligations in Philippine Law
Philippine Supreme Court ruling explains when delay in delivery does not breach a contract and when time is not of the essence.
Docket Fees and Dismissal: Perfecting Appeals in the Philippines
Philippine Supreme Court ruling on late payment of appellate docket fees and dismissal of appeals under Rule 41.
Procedural Lapses and Labor Rights: Understanding the Correct Appeal Process in Illegal Dismissal Cases
Learn how procedural errors in illegal dismissal cases affect appeals, based on Philippine Supreme Court rulings on judicial remedies.
Overlapping Land Titles: Registration Date and Reconstitution Validity in Philippine Property Law
Philippine Supreme Court clarifies how courts resolve conflicting land titles, weighing registration dates, reconstitution validity, and evidence of ownership.
Shareholder Derivative Suits and Private Prosecutor Intervention in Falsification Cases
The Supreme Court clarifies when a shareholder suit is truly derivative and when private prosecutors may intervene in criminal falsification cases.
Tuition Dispute Schools Cant Impose Fees MID Semester
Schools cannot impose new fees mid-semester after enrollment. The Supreme Court explains student rights and contract obligations.
Unauthorized Notarization Lawyers Face Suspension FOR Expired Commissions
Notarizing documents without a valid commission is lawyer misconduct. A Supreme Court ruling shows the penalties for unauthorized notarization.
Equity Prevails When Unjust Enrichment Trumps Landlord Tenant Estoppel
Philippine Supreme Court ruling on when a lessee's estoppel to deny lessor's title yields to equity and unjust enrichment principles.
Upholding Compromise Agreements, HLURB Jurisdiction, and Contractual Obligations in Property Sales
A Supreme Court ruling clarifies when the HLURB has jurisdiction over property disputes and affirms that compromise agreements bind parties unless vitiated or void.
Forum Shopping Certification and Timely Appeals: Pascual and Santos v. Tramo Wakas
Supreme Court clarifies rules on corporate authority to sign non-forum shopping certifications and timely filing of appeals by registered mail.
Habeas Corpus and DNA Evidence: Limits of Post-Conviction Remedies in Paternity-Based Rape Cases
The Supreme Court explains when DNA evidence can—and cannot—challenge a final rape conviction through habeas corpus or new trial.
Judicial Accountability: Delay in Case Resolution and the Judge's Duty to Expedite Justice
The Supreme Court fined a retiring judge for undue delay in resolving cases, underscoring every judge's duty to decide cases promptly.
Forum Shopping Certification in Labor Cases: Substantial Compliance Protects Workers' Rights
Supreme Court rules substantial compliance with non-forum shopping certification suffices in labor cases, protecting workers from technical dismissal.
Retroactivity of Procedural Rules Safeguarding Timely Appeals in Labor Disputes
How a procedural rule change saved a dismissed worker's appeal: the Supreme Court on retroactivity of Rule 65 amendments.
Security of Tenure vs Political Patronage: Protecting Civil Service Employees From Unlawful Dismissal
When a mayor forced a municipal engineer to resign or transfer, the Supreme Court reaffirmed that civil service security of tenure cannot be sacrificed to political patronage.
Corporate Authority and Timely Filing: Navigating Court Procedures in Land Disputes
Supreme Court clarifies rules on corporate authorization and filing deadlines in land dispute appeals.
Perfecting Appeals: Timely Payment of Appeal Fees as a Jurisdictional Requirement in Philippine Election Law
Learn how timely payment of appeal fees is a jurisdictional requirement in Philippine election law, based on Supreme Court rulings.
Good Faith Purchasers Prevail: Upholding the Integrity of Torrens Titles
Philippine Supreme Court ruling on judicial reconstitution of lost titles clarifies jurisdictional requirements under Republic Act No. 26.
Reconstitution of Titles: Substantial Compliance and Jurisdictional Requirements
Philippine Supreme Court ruling on what jurisdictional requirements apply in judicial reconstitution of lost titles under RA 26.
Moral Turpitude and Lawyer Disbarment: Issuing a Bouncing Check
A lawyer's conviction for issuing a bouncing check under BP 22 involves moral turpitude and warrants disbarment, the Supreme Court ruled.
Naturalization Hearings: Resetting Dates and Jurisdictional Requirements
The Supreme Court ruled that resetting a naturalization hearing to a date outside prohibited periods does not require republication of the notice when publication rules were met.