METROPOLITAN BANK, & TRUST COMPANY vs. Hon. FLORO T.

ALEJO, Presiding
Judge of Branch 172 RTC Valenzuela;

FACTS:

As security for the payment of the loans obtained from Metropolitan Bank and Trust
Company by the spouses Raul and Cristina Acampado, a Real Estate Mortgage over a parcel of
Nullity of land was executed by same spouses. Subsequently a Complaint for Declaration of the
TCT of the spouses was filed by Sy Tan Se in the RTC of Valenzuela. The bank was not made a
party to the said civil case(complaint for declaration of nullity of TCT.) They weren’t notified as
well. The spouses defaulted in the payment of their loan and extrajudicial foreclosure
proceedings were initiated. The bank submitted the highest and winning bid. A certificate of
sale was issued in their favor.

When they were about to get their TCT from the Register of Deeds, petitioner was
informed of the existence of the decision in the aforementioned civil case (complaint for
declaration of nullity of TCT) declaring the Spouses Acampados’s TCT null and void.

The bank filed with the CA a petition for the annulment of the RTC Decision. The CA
dismissed their petition and ruled that the bank should have filed a petition for relief from
judgment or an action for quieting of title.

ISSUES:

1. Whether or not a petition for annulment of judgment is the proper remedy available to
the bank.
2. Whether or not the judgment of the trial court (declaring the Spouses Acampados TCT
null and void) should be declared null and void

HELD :

1. Yes. Petition for annulment of judgment was the proper remedy available to the bank. Such
bank was deprived of its duly registered property right without due process of the law by
not including the petitioner as defendant to the civil case by Sy Tan Se even if he was an
indispensable party.

2. Yes. The judgment of the trial court should also be declared null and void because the bank,
which is an indispensable party, was not impleaded in the civil case. The absence of an
indispensable party renders all subsequent actuations of the court null and void, for want of
authority to act, not only as to the absent parties but even as to those present.