SECOND DIVISION
G.R. No. 138074. August 15, 2003
CELY YANG, Petitioner, vs. HON. COURT OF APPEALS, PHILIPPINE COMMERCIAL INTERNATIONAL BANK, FAR EAST BANK & TRUST CO., EQUITABLE BANKING CORPORATION, PREM CHANDIRAMANI and FERNANDO DAVID, Respondents.
D E C I S I O N
QUISUMBING, J.:
For review on certiorari is the decision1 of the Court of Appeals, dated March 25, 1999, in CA-G.R. CV No. 52398, which affirmed with modification the joint decision of the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Pasay City, Branch 117, dated July 4, 1995, in Civil Cases Nos. 54792 and 5492.3The trial court dismissed the complaint against herein respondents Far East Bank & Trust Company (FEBTC), Equitable Banking Corporation (Equitable), and Philippine Commercial International Bank (PCIB) and ruled in favor of respondent Fernando David as to the proceeds of the two cashiers checks, including the earnings thereof pendente lite. Petitioner Cely Yang was ordered to pay David moral damages of P100,000.00 and attorneys fees also in the amount of P100,000.00.
The facts of this case are not disputed, to wit:
On or before December 22, 1987, petitioner Cely Yang and private respondent Prem Chandiramani entered into an agreement whereby the latter was to give Yang a PCIB managers check in the amount of P4.2 million in exchange for two (2) of Yangs managers checks, each in the amount of P2.087 million, both payable to the order of private respondent Fernando David. Yang and Chandiramani agreed that the difference of P26,000.00 in the exchange would be their profit to be divided equally between them.
Yang and Chandiramani also further agreed that the former would secure from FEBTC a dollar draft in the amount of US$200,000.00, payable to PCIB FCDU Account No. 4195-01165-2, which Chandiramani would exchange for another dollar draft in the same amount to be issued by Hang Seng Bank Ltd. of Hong Kong.
Accordingly, on December 22, 1987, Yang procured the following:
a) Equitable Cashiers Check No. CCPS 14-009467 in the sum of P2,087,000.00, dated December 22, 1987, payable to the order of Fernando David;
b) FEBTC Cashiers Check No. 287078, in the amount of P2,087,000.00, dated December 22, 1987, likewise payable to the order of Fernando David; and
c) FEBTC Dollar Draft No. 4771, drawn on Chemical Bank, New York, in the amount of US$200,000.00, dated December 22, 1987, payable to PCIB FCDU Account No. 4195-01165-2.
At about one oclock in the afternoon of the same day, Yang gave the aforementioned cashiers checks and dollar drafts to her business associate, Albert Liong, to be delivered to Chandiramani by Liongs messenger, Danilo Ranigo. Ranigo was to meet Chandiramani at Philippine Trust Bank, Ayala Avenue, Makati City, Metro Manila where he would turn over Yangs cashiers checks and dollar draft to Chandiramani who, in turn, would deliver to Ranigo a PCIB managers check in the sum of P4.2 million and a Hang Seng Bank dollar draft for US$200,000.00 in exchange.
Chandiramani did not appear at the rendezvous and Ranigo allegedly lost the two cashiers checks and the dollar draft bought by petitioner. Ranigo reported the alleged loss of the checks and the dollar draft to Liong at half past four in the afternoon of December 22, 1987. Liong, in turn, informed Yang, and the loss was then reported to the police.
It transpired, however, that the checks and the dollar draft were not lost, for Chandiramani was able to get hold of said instruments, without delivering the exchange consideration consisting of the PCIB managers check and the Hang Seng Bank dollar draft.
At three oclock in the afternoon or some two (2) hours after Chandiramani and Ranigo were to meet in Makati City, Chandiramani delivered to respondent Fernando David at China Banking Corporation branch in San Fernando City, Pampanga, the following: (a) FEBTC Cashiers Check No. 287078, dated December 22, 1987, in the sum of P2.087 million; and (b) Equitable Cashiers Check No. CCPS 14-009467, dated December 22, 1987, also in the amount of P2.087 million. In exchange, Chandiramani got US$360,000.00 from David, which Chandiramani deposited in the savings account of his wife, Pushpa Chandiramani; and his mother, Rani Reynandas, who held FCDU Account No. 124 with the United Coconut Planters Bank branch in Greenhills, San Juan, Metro Manila. Chandiramani also deposited FEBTC Dollar Draft No. 4771, dated December 22, 1987, drawn upon the Chemical Bank, New York for US$200,000.00 in PCIB FCDU Account No. 4195-01165-2 on the same date.
Meanwhile, Yang requested FEBTC and Equitable to stop payment on the instruments she believed to be lost. Both banks complied with her request, but upon the representation of PCIB, FEBTC subsequently lifted the stop payment order on FEBTC Dollar Draft No. 4771, thus enabling the holder of PCIB FCDU Account No. 4195-01165-2 to receive the amount of US$200,000.00.
On December 28, 1987, herein petitioner Yang lodged a Complaint4 for injunction and damages against Equitable, Chandiramani, and David, with prayer for a temporary restraining order, with the Regional Trial Court of Pasay City. The Complaint was docketed as Civil Case No. 5479. The Complaint was subsequently amended to include a prayer for Equitable to return to Yang the amount of P2.087 million, with interest thereon until fully paid.[5
On January 12, 1988, Yang filed a separate case for injunction and damages, with prayer for a writ of preliminary injunction against FEBTC, PCIB, Chandiramani and David, with the RTC of Pasay City, docketed as Civil Case No. 5492. This complaint was later amended to include a prayer that defendants therein return to Yang the amount of P2.087 million, the value of FEBTC Dollar Draft No. 4771, with interest at 18% annually until fully paid.[6
On February 9, 1988, upon the filing of a bond by Yang, the trial court issued a writ of preliminary injunction in Civil Case No. 5479. A writ of preliminary injunction was subsequently issued in Civil Case No. 5492 also.
Meanwhile, herein respondent David moved for dismissal of the cases against him and for reconsideration of the Orders granting the writ of preliminary injunction, but these motions were denied. David then elevated the matter to the Court of Appeals in a special civil action for certiorari docketed as CA-G.R. SP No. 14843, which was dismissed by the appellate court.
As Civil Cases Nos. 5479 and 5492 arose from the same set of facts, the two cases were consolidated. The trial court then conducted pre-trial and trial of the two cases, but the proceedings had to be suspended after a fire gutted the Pasay City Hall and destroyed the records of the courts.
After the records were reconstituted, the proceedings resumed and the parties agreed that the money in dispute be invested in Treasury Bills to be awarded in favor of the prevailing side. It was also agreed by the parties to limit the issues at the trial to the following:
1. Who, between David and Yang, is legally entitled to the proceeds of Equitable Banking Corporation (EBC) Cashiers Check No. CCPS 14-009467 in the sum of P2,087,000.00 dated December 22, 1987, and Far East Bank and Trust Company (FEBTC) Cashiers Check No. 287078 in the sum of P2,087,000.00 dated December 22, 1987, together with the earnings derived therefrom pendente lite?
2. Are the defendants FEBTC and PCIB solidarily liable to Yang for having allowed the encashment of FEBTC Dollar Draft No. 4771, in the sum of US$200,000.00 plus interest thereon despite the stop payment order of Cely Yang?[7
On July 4, 1995, the trial court handed down its decision in Civil Cases Nos. 5479 and 5492, to wit:
WHEREFORE, the Court renders judgment in favor of defendant Fernando David against the plaintiff Cely Yang and declaring the former entitled to the proceeds of the two (2) cashiers checks, together with the earnings derived therefrom pendente lite; ordering the plaintiff to pay the defendant Fernando David moral damages in the amount of P100,000.00; attorneys fees in the amount of P100,000.00 and to pay the costs. The complaint against Far East Bank and Trust Company (FEBTC), Philippine Commercial International Bank (PCIB) and Equitable Banking Corporation (EBC) is dismissed. The decision is without prejudice to whatever action plaintiff Cely Yang will file against defendant Prem Chandiramani for reimbursement of the amounts received by him from defendant Fernando David.
SO ORDERED.[8
In finding for David, the trial court ratiocinated:
The evidence shows that defendant David was a holder in due course for the reason that the cashiers checks were complete on their face when they were negotiated to him. They were not yet overdue when he became the holder thereof and he had no notice that said checks were previously dishonored; he took the cashiers checks in good faith and for value. He parted some $200,000.00 for the two (2) cashiers checks which were given to defendant Chandiramani; he had also no notice of any infirmity in the cashiers checks or defect in the title of the drawer. As a matter of fact, he asked the manager of the China Banking Corporation to inquire as to the genuineness of the cashiers checks (tsn, February 5, 1988, p. 21, September 20, 1991, pp. 13-14). Another proof that defendant David is a holder in due course is the fact that the stop payment order on [the] FEBTC cashiers check was lifted upon his inquiry at the head office (tsn, September 20, 1991, pp. 24-25). The apparent reason for lifting the stop payment order was because of the fact that FEBTC realized that the checks were not actually lost but indeed reached the payee defendant David.[9
Yang then moved for reconsideration of the RTC judgment, but the trial court denied her motion in its Order of September 20, 1995.
In the belief that the trial court misunderstood the concept of a holder in due course and misapprehended the factual milieu, Yang seasonably filed an appeal with the Court of Appeals, docketed as CA-G.R. CV No. 52398.
On March 25, 1999, the appellate court decided CA-G.R. CV No. 52398 in this wise:
WHEREFORE, this court AFFIRMS the judgment of the lower court with modification and hereby orders the plaintiff-appellant to pay defendant-appellant PCIB the amount of Twenty-Five Thousand Pesos (P25,000.00).
SO ORDERED.[10
In affirming the trial courts judgment with respect to herein respondent David, the appellate court found that:
In this case, defendant-appellee had taken the necessary precautions to verify, through his bank, China Banking Corporation, the genuineness of whether (sic) the cashiers checks he received from Chandiramani. As no stop payment order was made yet (at) the time of the inquiry, defendant-appellee had no notice of what had transpired earlier between the plaintiff-appellant and Chandiramani. All he knew was that the checks were issued to Chandiramani with whom he was he had (sic) a transaction. Further on, David received the checks in question in due course because Chandiramani, who at the time the checks were delivered to David, was acting as Yangs agent.
David had no notice, real or constructive, cogent for him to make further inquiry as to any infirmity in the instrument(s) and defect of title of the holder. To mandate that each holder inquire about every aspect on how the instrument came about will unduly impede commercial transactions, Although negotiable instruments do not constitute legal tender, they often take the place of money as a means of payment.
The mere fact that David and Chandiramani knew one another for a long time is not sufficient to establish that they connived with each other to defraud Yang. There was no concrete proof presented by Yang to support her theory.[11
The appellate court awarded P25,000.00 in attorneys fees to PCIB as it found the action filed by Yang against said bank to be clearly unfounded and baseless. Since PCIB was compelled to litigate to protect itself, then it was entitled under Article 2208[12 of the Civil Code to attorneys fees and litigation expenses.
Hence, the instant recourse wherein petitioner submits the following issues for resolution:
a - WHETHER THE CHECKS WERE ISSUED TO PREM CHANDIRAMANI BY PETITIONER;
b - WHETHER THE ALLEGED TRANSACTION BETWEEN PREM CHANDIRAMANI AND FERNANDO DAVID IS LEGITIMATE OR A SCHEME BY BOTH PRIVATE RESPONDENTS TO SWINDLE PETITIONER;
c - WHETHER FERNANDO DAVID GAVE PREM CHANDIRAMANI US$360,000.00 OR JUST A FRACTION OF THE AMOUNT REPRESENTING HIS SHARE OF THE LOOT;
d - WHETHER PRIVATE RESPONDENTS FERNANDO DAVID AND PCIB ARE ENTITLED TO DAMAGES AND ATTORNEYS FEES.[13
At the outset, we must stress that this is a petition for review under Rule 45 of the 1997 Rules of Civil Procedure. It is basic that in petitions for review under Rule 45, the jurisdiction of this Court is limited to reviewing questions of law, questions of fact are not entertained absent a showing that the factual findings complained of are totally devoid of support in the record or are glaringly erroneous.[14 Given the facts in the instant case, despite petitioners formulation, we find that the following are the pertinent issues to be resolved:
a) Whether the Court of Appeals erred in holding herein respondent Fernando David to be a holder in due course; and
b) Whether the appellate court committed a reversible error in awarding damages and attorneys fees to David and PCIB.
On the first issue, petitioner Yang contends that private respondent Fernando David is not a holder in due course of the checks in question. While it is true that he was named the payee thereof, David failed to inquire from Chandiramani about how the latter acquired possession of said checks. Given his failure to do so, it cannot be said that David was unaware of any defect or infirmity in the title of Chandiramani to the checks at the time of their negotiation. Moreover, inasmuch as the checks were crossed, then David should have, pursuant to our ruling in Bataan Cigar & Cigarette Factory, Inc. v. Court of Appeals, G.R. No. 93048, March 3, 1994, 230 SCRA 643, been put on guard that the checks were issued for a definite purpose and accordingly, made inquiries to determine if he received the checks pursuant to that purpose. His failure to do so negates the finding in the proceedings below that he was a holder in due course.
Finally, the petitioner argues that there is no showing whatsoever that David gave Chandiramani any consideration of value in exchange for the aforementioned checks.
Private respondent Fernando David counters that the evidence on record shows that when he received the checks, he verified their genuineness with his bank, and only after said verification did he deposit them. David stresses that he had no notice of previous dishonor or any infirmity that would have aroused his suspicions, the instruments being complete and regular upon their face. David stresses that the checks in question were cashiers checks. From the very nature of cashiers checks, it is highly unlikely that he would have suspected that something was amiss. David also stresses negotiable instruments are presumed to have been issued for valuable consideration, and he who alleges otherwise must controvert the presumption with sufficient evidence. The petitioner failed to discharge this burden, according to David. He points out that the checks were delivered to him as the payee, and he took them as holder and payee thereof. Clearly, he concludes, he should be deemed to be their holder in due course.
We shall now resolve the first issue.
Every holder of a negotiable instrument is deemed prima facie a holder in due course. However, this presumption arises only in favor of a person who is a holder as defined in Section 191 of the Negotiable Instruments Law,[15 meaning a payee or indorsee of a bill or note, who is in possession of it, or the bearer thereof.
In the present case, it is not disputed that David was the payee of the checks in question. The weight of authority sustains the view that a payee may be a holder in due course.[16 Hence, the presumption that he is a prima facie holder in due course applies in his favor. However, said presumption may be rebutted. Hence, what is vital to the resolution of this issue is whether David took possession of the checks under the conditions provided for in Section 52[17 of the Negotiable Instruments Law. All the requisites provided for in Section 52 must concur in Davids case, otherwise he cannot be deemed a holder in due course.
We find that the petitioners challenge to Davids status as a holder in due course hinges on two arguments: (1) the lack of proof to show that David tendered any valuable consideration for the disputed checks; and (2) Davids failure to inquire from Chandiramani as to how the latter acquired possession of the checks, thus resulting in Davids intentional ignorance tantamount to bad faith. In sum, petitioner posits that the last two requisites of Section 52 are missing, thereby preventing David from being considered a holder in due course. Unfortunately for the petitioner, her arguments on this score are less than meritorious and far from persuasive.
First, with respect to consideration, Section 24[18 of the Negotiable Instruments Law creates a presumption that every party to an instrument acquired the same for a consideration[19 or for value.[20 Thus, the law itself creates a presumption in Davids favor that he gave valuable consideration for the checks in question. In alleging otherwise, the petitioner has the onus to prove that David got hold of the checks absent said consideration. In other words, the petitioner must present convincing evidence to overthrow the presumption. Our scrutiny of the records, however, shows that the petitioner failed to discharge her burden of proof. The petitioners averment that David did not give valuable consideration when he took possession of the checks is unsupported, devoid of any concrete proof to sustain it. Note that both the trial court and the appellate court found that David did not receive the checks gratis, but instead gave Chandiramani US$360,000.00 as consideration for the said instruments. Factual findings of the Court of Appeals are conclusive on the parties and not reviewable by this Court; they carry great weight when the factual findings of the trial court are affirmed by the appellate court.[21
Second, petitioner fails to point any circumstance which should have put David on inquiry as to the why and wherefore of the possession of the checks by Chandiramani. David was not privy to the transaction between petitioner and Chandiramani. Instead, Chandiramani and David had a separate dealing in which it was precisely Chandiramanis duty to deliver the checks to David as payee. The evidence shows that Chandiramani performed said task to the letter. Petitioner admits that David took the step of asking the manager of his bank to verify from FEBTC and Equitable as to the genuineness of the checks and only accepted the same after being assured that there was nothing wrong with said checks. At that time, David was not aware of any stop payment order. Under these circumstances, David thus had no obligation to ascertain from Chandiramani what the nature of the latters title to the checks was, if any, or the nature of his possession. Thus, we cannot hold him guilty of gross neglect amounting to legal absence of good faith, absent any showing that there was something amiss about Chandiramanis acquisition or possession of the checks. David did not close his eyes deliberately to the nature or the particulars of a fraud allegedly committed by Chandiramani upon the petitioner, absent any knowledge on his part that the action in taking the instruments amounted to bad faith.[22
Belatedly, and we say belatedly since petitioner did not raise this matter in the proceedings below, petitioner now claims that David should have been put on alert as the instruments in question were crossed checks. Pursuant to Bataan Cigar & Cigarette Factory, Inc. v. Court of Appeals, David should at least have inquired as to whether he was acquiring said checks for the purpose for which they were issued, according to petitioners submission.
Petitioners reliance on the Bataan Cigar case, however, is misplaced. The facts in the present case are not on all fours with Bataan Cigar. In the latter case, the crossed checks were negotiated and sold at a discount by the payee, while in the instant case, the payee did not negotiate further the checks in question but promptly deposited them in his bank account.
The Negotiable Instruments Law is silent with respect to crossed checks, although the Code of Commerce[23 makes reference to such instruments. Nonetheless, this Court has taken judicial cognizance of the practice that a check with two parallel lines in the upper left hand corner means that it could only be deposited and not converted into cash.[24 The effects of crossing a check, thus, relates to the mode of payment, meaning that the drawer had intended the check for deposit only by the rightful person, i.e., the payee named therein. In Bataan Cigar, the rediscounting of the check by the payee knowingly violated the avowed intention of crossing the check. Thus, in accepting the cross checks and paying cash for them, despite the warning of the crossing, the subsequent holder could not be considered in good faith and thus, not a holder in due course. Our ruling in Bataan Cigar reiterates that in De Ocampo & Co. v. Gatchalian.[25
The factual circumstances in De Ocampo and in Bataan Cigar are not present in this case. For here, there is no dispute that the crossed checks were delivered and duly deposited by David, the payee named therein, in his bank account. In other words, the purpose behind the crossing of the checks was satisfied by the payee.
Proceeding to the issue of damages, petitioner merely argues that respondents David and PCIB are not entitled to damages, attorneys fees, and costs of suit as both acted in bad faith towards her, as shown by her version of the facts which gave rise to the instant case.
Respondent David counters that he was maliciously and unceremoniously dragged into this suit for reasons which have nothing to do with him at all, but which arose from petitioners failure to receive her share of the profit promised her by Chandiramani. Moreover, in filing this suit which has lasted for over a decade now, the petitioner deprived David of the rightful enjoyment of the two checks, to which he is entitled, under the law, compelled him to hire the services of counsel to vindicate his rights, and subjected him to social humiliation and besmirched reputation, thus harming his standing as a person of good repute in the business community of Pampanga. David thus contends that it is but proper that moral damages, attorneys fees, and costs of suit be awarded him.
For its part, respondent PCIB stresses that it was established by both the trial court and the appellate court that it was needlessly dragged into this case. Hence, no error was committed by the appellate court in declaring PCIB entitled to attorneys fees as it was compelled to litigate to protect itself.
We have thoroughly perused the records of this case and find no reason to disagree with the finding of the trial court, as affirmed by the appellate court, that:
[D]efendant David is entitled to [the] award of moral damages as he has been needlessly and unceremoniously dragged into this case which should have been brought only between the plaintiff and defendant Chandiramani.[26
A careful reading of the findings of facts made by both the trial court and appellate court clearly shows that the petitioner, in including David as a party in these proceedings, is barking up the wrong tree. It is apparent from the factual findings that David had no dealings with the petitioner and was not privy to the agreement of the latter with Chandiramani. Moreover, any loss which the petitioner incurred was apparently due to the acts or omissions of Chandiramani, and hence, her recourse should have been against him and not against David. By needlessly dragging David into this case all because he and Chandiramani knew each other, the petitioner not only unduly delayed David from obtaining the value of the checks, but also caused him anxiety and injured his business reputation while waiting for its outcome. Recall that under Article 2217[27 of the Civil Code, moral damages include mental anguish, serious anxiety, besmirched reputation, wounded feelings, social humiliation, and similar injury. Hence, we find the award of moral damages to be in order.
The appellate court likewise found that like David, PCIB was dragged into this case on unfounded and baseless grounds. Both were thus compelled to litigate to protect their interests, which makes an award of attorneys fees justified under Article 2208 (2)[28 of the Civil Code. Hence, we rule that the award of attorneys fees to David and PCIB was proper.
WHEREFORE, the instant petition is DENIED. The assailed decision of the Court of Appeals, dated March 25, 1999, in CA-G.R. CV No. 52398 is AFFIRMED. Costs against the petitioner.
SO ORDERED.
Bellosillo, (Chairman), Austria-Martinez, and Tinga, JJ., concur.
Callejo, Sr., J., on leave.
