San Leonardo Community Band '86 vs. Miguel Ingusan, et al.

[SEC-SICD * CASE NO. 3326. January 23, 1989.] SAN LEONARDO COMMUNITY BAND '86 , complainant , vs . MIGUEL INGUSAN, ET AL. , respondents . D E C I S I O N Submitted for resolution is the complaint filed by San Leonardo Community Band '86, dated March 2, 1988, against the individual respondents praying that they enjoined from using the complainant's name and to desist from engaging in business similar to that of the complainant. Complainant alleged, among others, that it is a juridical person existing under and by virtue of the laws of the Republic of the Philippines with principal office at San Leonardo, Nueva Ecija; that it was registered with the Honorable Securities and Exchange Commission under Registration No. 142046 issued on June 29, 1987; that complainant is an organized group of persons or a band engaged in the business of rendering musical assistance for a fee not only in San Leonardo, Nueva Ecija but all throughout the province of Nueva Ecija and at times outside the said province; that complainant has been peacefully conducting its business of rendering musical assistance to its customers and for the public as a whole when trouble ensued sometime in the month of July or August of 1987; that respondents are persons who organized themselves as a band also engaged in the same business as that of the complainant; that complainant discovered that respondents as a group, have been doing business with the public also for a fee using the name of complainant; that by the use of said name by respondents, complainant has been suffering damages and prejudice, aside from the fact that its reputation was besmirched and its goodwill was degraded. cdll Respondents, in their answer, aside from denying substantially all the allegations in the complaint also alleged in their affirmative defenses that respondents are not using the name of the complainant; that respondents' group use the business name Community Band '86, which was first organized before complainant's name was registered in the Securities and Exchange Commission on June 29, 1987; that Community Band '86 which is being used by respondents as their business name was organized in the month of April 1986 with the following officers: Miguel Ingusan President & founder Mariano Manzon Vice President and founder Nicolas Hallarces Executive Officer and founder Quirina Perez Auditor and founder Isidro Maniquiz Treasurer and founder Alejandro Reyes Director Pedro Razon Director Santiago Salvatiera Driver that Mariano Manzon who is claiming to be the President of the complainant was the Vice-President of the Original Community Band '86 and therefore he is estopped from questioning that the respondents' group should be prohibited from using the business name Community Band '86; that controversy arose when the Board of Directors of Community Band '86 decided to change the band leader because of his failure to account and remit the earnings of the Band; that unexpectedly the President of the complainant, Mr. Mariano Manzon, sided with the band leader, Felipe Castillo, in refusing to account for the earnings and surrender all the musical instruments purchased by the respondents; that the officers of the complainant knowing that a lawsuit would be filed against them for their continuous refusal to account and surrender the musical instrument of the respondents, jumped the gun and immediately filed the complainant's Articles of Incorporation with the Securities and Exchange Commission excluding the above-named respondents as its members. The records on file with the Commission show that the respondents herein have already registered their association under the name of "Miguel Ingusan and Company Community Band '86", with SEC Registration No. 150959 dated May 5, 1988. Considering the registration of respondents' association of which this Commission takes judicial notice, the issue raised in the complaint as to whether or not respondents group is doing business by illegally using complainants' name has been rendered moot and academic. Likewise complainants can not now claim that the use of respondents' name will lead to deception and/or confusion since respondents' corporate name is entirely different from that of the complainant. prcd In view thereof, the above-entitled case is hereby DISMISSED. SO ORDERED. (SGD.) JAMES K. ABUGAN Hearing Officer (SGD.) MARCIANO S. BACALLA, JR. Hearing Officer