Rule 11 When to File Responsive

Pleadings
1.

1. Answer to complaint 15 days from

service, unless different period fixed by the
courts;
2.
2. Answer of defendant foreign private
juridical entity when service of summons is
made on the government official designated by
law, answer to be filed within 30 days from
receipt of summons by such entity.
3.
3. Answer to amended complaint if
amended as a matter of right, 15 days from
being served with copy thereof
* If amended not as a matter of right, 10 days from
notice of order admitting the same
* Answer earlier filed may be answer to amended
complaint, if no new answer is filed
* Applicable to amended counterclaim, cross, third, etc,
1.

4. Answer to counterclaim or cross-claim

within 10 days from service.
2.
5. Answer to 3rd party complaint 15 days
from service
3.
6. Reply may be filed within 10 days from
service of the pleading responded to.

Rule 13 Filing and Service of Pleadings,

Judgments and Other Papers
1.
1.

1. Kinds of service of pleadings:

Personal service to be done whenever
practicable (Most preferred mode)
2.
Service by mail (ordinary if no registered mail)
3.
Substituted service (delivering copy to clerk of
court with proof of failure of 1st 2 modes)
* Except with respect to papers emanating from the
court, a resort to other modes must be accompanied
by a written explanation why the service or filing was
not done personally.
* Violation of rule may be cause to consider the paper
as not filed.
1.
1.
2.
3.

3. Proof of personal service

1.
2.
3.

Rule 12 Bill of Particulars

1.
1.

1. Bill of particulars
Period of filing motion before responding to a
pleading; if pleading is a reply, within 10 days
from service thereof;
2.
Order for bill must be complied with in 10 days
from notice OR period fixed by court
3.
After service of bill or denial of motion party
has balance of time he was entitled to file
responsive pleading, but not less than 5 days
* Motion for Bill of Particulars may NOT call for matters
which form part of the proof of the complaint. Thus,
motion should not be granted if the complaint, while
not very definite, nonetheless already states a
sufficient cause of action.

2. Kinds of service of final orders:

Personal
Registered mail
Publication (if summons by publication)

Written admission of party served;

Official return of the server; or
Affidavit of party serving, containing a full
statement of the date, place and manner of
service.

Rule 14 Summons
1.
2.
3.

1. Contents of summons
2. Kinds of service of summons:
Handing a copy to the defendant in person;
OR
1.
If he refuses to receive and sign for it,
by tendering it to him
2.
Substituted:
1.
Leave copies at his residence,
with person of suitable age and
discretion residing therein; OR
2.
Leave copies at defendants
office/regular place of business,
with competent person in charge
thereof.
3.
3. By whom served:
4.
4. When extraterritorial
service allowed:
5.
5. Kinds of extra territorial
service

6.

1.
2.
3.
4.
1.
3.
1.
2.
3.
1.

2.

3.

4.
1.
2.
3.
1.
2.

6. When service by
publication in a newspaper of
general publication allowed:
Signed by the clerk under the seal of the court
Name of the court and that parties to the
action
Direction that the defendant answer within the
time fixed by these rules
Notice that unless defendant so answers,
plaintiff will take judgment by default
Personal:
By publication
Sheriff
Other proper court officer
Any suitable person specially authorized by
the judge
Defendant is a non-resident and is not found in
the Philippines and action affects plaintiffs
personal status
Subject of action is property within the
Philippines in which the defendant has or claims
a lien or interest
Where relief demanded consists in whole or in
part in excluding the defendant from any
interest in such property
When property of defendant has been
attached within the Philippines
Personal service
Publication and summons sent by registered
mail to last known address
Any other matter the court may deem sufficient
Identity of defendant unknown
Whereabouts of defendant unknown and
cannot be ascertained by diligent inquiry

1.
2.

Resident agent designated in accord with Law

If no such agent, on government official
designated by law OR
3.
On any of its officers or agents within the Phils
NOTE: IF NO RESIDENT AGENT, SERVICE OF
SUMMONSES AND PROCESSES ON THE SEC.
1.
9. Newspaper of general circulation (RA
4883, PD 1079)
1.
Published for the dissemination of local news
and general information
2.
Has a bona fide subscription list of subscribers
3.
Published at regular intervals
4.
Not published for nor devoted to the interest of
a particular group of persons
5.
Must have been regularly published for at least
2 years before the date of the publication in
question.
* Mere filing of an answer per se should not be
automatically treated as a voluntary appearance by the
defendant for the purpose of sumons. It should be
noted that when the appearance of the defendant is
precisely to object to the jurisdiction of the court over
his person, it cannot be considered as an appearance
in court.

Rule 15 Motions
1.
2.
1.
2.
1.
2.
3.

1. All motions must be in writing except:

2. Exceptions to the three-day notice rule:
Those made in open court; OR
Those made in the course of a hearing or trial.
Ex parte motion
Urgent motion
When court sets hearing on shorter notice for
good cause
4.
Motion for summary judgment (must be served
at least 10 days before the hearing)

* (a) and (b), applies to ANY action, even actions in

personam
3.
Defendant is non-resident and the suit is quasi
in rem
4.
Defendant is temporarily out of the country
and the suit is quasi in rem
1.
7. Service upon private domestic juridical
entity refers to corporation, partnership, or
association organized under Phil. Laws with a
juridical personality:
2.
8. Service upon private foreign juridical entity
transacting business in the Phils:
1.
President
2.
Managing partner
3.
General manager
4.
Corporate secretary
5.
Treasurer
6.
In-house counsel

A prudent judge would, in the absence of the

opposing party in the hearing of a motion, inquire from

the other party or inquire from the records the proof of
the service of notice rather than proceed with the
hearing. He should not rely on a partys undertaking to
notify the adverse party of a scheduled hearing. The
judge must demand what the rule requires, i.e., proof
of such notice on the adverse party. Otherwise, a
contentious motion should be considered a mere scrap
of paper which should not have even been received for
filing.

barangay conciliation, or failure to make

attempts to reach a compromise in cases
between members of the same family)

* Subsequent service of the motion on the adverse

party may be considered substantial compliance with
the Rule 15, 6. Failure to attach to the motion proof
of service thereof to the adverse party is not fatal when
the adverse party had actually received a copy of the
motion and was in fact present in court when the
motion was heard.

Rule 16 Motion to Dismiss

1.

2.
1.

2.
3.
4.
5.

1. Motion to Dismiss must be filed within the

time for and before the filing of an answer to
complaint.
2. Grounds for motion to dismiss:
Court has no jurisdiction over the person of the
defendant- unlike old rule, inclusion in motion to
dismiss of other grounds aside from lack of
jurisdiction over the person does NOT constitute
a waiver of the said ground or voluntary
appearance;
Court has no jurisdiction over the subject
matter of the claim;
Venue is improperly laid;
Plaintiff has no legal capacity to sue;
There is another action pending between the
same parties for the same cause;

* The court shall not defer the resolution of the motion

for the reason that the ground relied upon is not
indubitable.
3. Actions that court may take on a Motion to Dismiss:
1.
2.

Grant it remedy: appeal

Deny NOT appealable; but may avail of
certiorari, prohibition and mandamus
3.
Order amendment of the pleading
4. If denied, defendant must file answer within the
balance of the 15-day period, but not less than 5 days
from the time he received notice of the denial;
5. Subject to the right to appeal, dismissal based on
the following grounds will be bar to refiling:
1.
2.
3.
4.

a. Res judicata
Extinguishment of claim or demand
Prescription
Unenforceability under the Statute of Frauds

* Requisites of litis pendentia:

1.
Identity of parties/interest
2.
Identity of rights asserted and prayed for/relief
founded on the same facts;
3.
Identity of the 2 cases (such that judgment in
one would amount to res judicata in the other)
6.
Cause of action is barred by a prior judgment
or by statute of limitations;

6. The dismissal of the complaint shall be without

* Requisites of res judicata:

1.
Final judgment or order
2.
Rendered by court of competent jurisdiction
3.
On the merits (even without trial, such as
cases decided by Judgment on the Pleadings,
Summary Judgment, or dismissed for failure to
prosecute or for refusal to obey an order of the
court)
4.
Identity of the parties
7.
Pleading asserting claim states no cause of
action;
8.
Claim or demand in the plaintiffs pleading has
been paid, waived, abandoned, extinguished;
9.
Claim on which action is founded is
unenforceable under the statute of frauds;
10. Condition precedent for filing has not been
complied with (this includes prior recourse to

and relevant facts which are well pleaded in the

prejudice to the prosecution in the same or separate

action of a counterclaim pleaded in the answer.
* A motion to dismiss on the ground of failure to state a
cause of action in the complaint must hypothetically
admit the truth of the facts alleged in the complaint.
The admission, however, is limited only to all material
complaint. The demurrer does not admit the truth of
mere epithets charging fraud; nor allegations of legal
conclusions; nor an erroneous statement of law; nor
matters of evidence; nor to legally impossible facts.

Rule 17 Dismissal of Actions

1.
1.

1. Dismissal by the plaintiff

Notice of dismissal any time before service of
the answer or a motion for summary judgment;

* Dismissal is without prejudice EXCEPT on 2nd notice

of dismissal, which operates as adjudication on the
merits when filed by same plaintiff who has once
dismissed an action based on or including said claim.
1.
If answer or motion for summary judgment
already served, dismissal by a Motion for

Dismissal, which shall require approval of the

court; shall be without prejudice unless
otherwise specified by the court
* If counterclaim has been pleaded by a defendant

7.
8.
1.

prior to the service upon him of plaintiffs motion to

dismiss, dismissal is limited to the complaint; dismissal
is without prejudice to defendants right to prosecute
counterclaim in a separate action or, if he makes a
manifestation within 15 days from notice of the motion,

2.

to prosecute CC in same action.

1.

2. Dismissal due to plaintiffs fault the

following must be without justifiable cause
1.
If plaintiff fails to appear on the date of
presentation of his evidence in chief;
2.
Plaintiff fails to prosecute claim for an
unreasonable length of time
3.
Plaintiff fails to comply with the Rules of Court
or any order of the court

3.

* Complaint may be dismissed upon defendants

motion or motu proprio.
* Unless otherwise declared by the court, dismissal
has effect of adjudication upon the merits.

1.
2.

RULE ON SEVERANCE OF COMPULSORY CC:

Dismissal of principal action upon plaintiffs motion or
due to plaintiffs fault does not necessarily carry with it
the dismissal of the compulsory CC; defendant is also

Rule 19 Intervention

given option to prosecute the same in same or

separate action.
1.
3. Dismissal of counterclaim, cross-claim, or
rd
3 -party complaint must be made by claimant
before a responsive pleading or a motion for
summary judgment is served, or if there is none,
before the introduction of evidence.

Rule 18 Pre-Trial
1. What to consider in pre-trial (with notice to counsel
or party without counsel)
1.
2.
3.
4.

Possibility of amicable settlement or arbitration

Simplification of the issues
Amendments to the pleadings
Stipulations or admissions of facts and
documents
5.
Limitation of number of witnesses
6.
Preliminary reference of issues to a
commissioner

Propriety of judgment on the pleadings,

summary judgments, or dismissal of action
Other matters for the prompt disposition of the
action
2. It is the duty of the plaintiff to move ex
parte for the setting of the case for pre-trial.
However, if plaintiff answers the defendants
counterclaim, it will be the latters duty to set the
pre-trial.
3. Failure of plaintiff to appear shall be cause
for dismissal of the action. Non-appearance of
defendant is cause to allow plaintiff to present
evidence ex parte and the court to render
judgment on basis thereof.
4. Non-appearance of party excused only if:
1.
5. Must file pre-trial brief so as to
ensure that other party receives it at least
3 days before pre-trial. Failure to file
brief has same effects as failure to
appear at pre-trial.
2.
6. Proceedings recorded, and court
shall issue an order reciting in detail
matters taken up.
A valid cause is shown therefor OR
If representative shall appear in his behalf fully
authorized in writing to enter into an amicable
settlement, to submit to alternative modes of
dispute resolution, and to enter into stipulations
or admissions of facts and of documents,

1.
2.

1. Grounds for intervention

2. Motion may be filed at any time before
rendition of judgment.
1.
3. Answer to complaint-inintervention must be filed within 15 days
from notice of court admitting the
complaint.
2.
4. Motion for intervention will be
granted if it will not unduly delay or
prejudice adjudication of rights or original
parties and if the intervenors rights may
be fully protected in separate
proceedings.
3.
5. Complaint in intervention is
merely collateral to the principal action.
Hence, it will be dismissed if main action
is dismissed.
4.
6. A complaint in intervention that
seeks affirmative relief prevents a plaintiff
from taking a voluntary dismissal of the

1.
2.
3.
4.

main action. Such a case is not subject

to dismissal upon intervenors petition
showing him to be entitled to affirmative
relief. The petition will be preserved and
heard regardless of the disposition of the
main action.
Legal interest in the matter in litigation
Interest in the success of either or both parties
or interest against both
Party is so situated as to be adversely affected
by the distribution of the court
Disposition of property in the custody of the
court or of an officer thereof.

Rule 20 Calendar of Cases

1. Calendar of cases to be kept by clerk of court for
cases set for pre-trial, trial, those whose trials
adjourned or postponed and those with motions set for
hearings.
1.

2. Preference given to habeas corpus,

election cases, special civil actions and those
so required by law.