FIRST DIVISION
[G.R. No. 252583. January 19, 2021.]
ATTYS. EXEQUIEL M. DE GUZMAN AND JAERO P. GARCIA, petitioners, vs.OFFSHORE CAPITAL EQUITIES, INC., REPRESENTED BY ITS PRESIDENT, CAROL AISNE H. ALVAREZ, TREASURER, FLORINDA A. HERNANDEZ AND SECRETARY, ROUEN RUTH A. CRISTOBAL, respondent.
NOTICE
Sirs/Mesdames :
Please take notice that the Court, First Division, issued a Resolution datedJanuary 19, 2021which reads as follows: ATICcS
"G.R. No. 252583 (Attys. Exequiel M. De Guzman and Jaero P. Garcia, Petitioners, v. Offshore Capital Equities, Inc., represented by its President, Carol Aisne H. Alvarez, Treasurer, Florinda A. Hernandez and Secretary, Rouen Ruth A. Cristobal,Respondent). — After a review of the records, the Court resolves to DENY the petition for failure of petitioners to sufficiently show that the Court of Appeals (CA) committed any reversible error in its Decision 1 dated 04 October 2019 in CA-G.R. CV. No. 109614 to warrant the exercise of the Court's appellate jurisdiction.
As correctly ruled by the CA, petitioners are not entitled to the additional attorney's fees of Php1,233,432.61 and the amount of Php1,066,567.39 earlier garnished in their favor is unreasonable warranting its return to respondent. However, there being no evidence on record that respondent paid Atty. De Guzman the acceptance fee of P60,000.00, the Court deems it proper to subtract the same from the total amount that should be returned by petitioners, aside from the P61,000.00 balance from the billing statement. Thus, Petitioners are directed to return to respondent the amount of Php945,567.39. Likewise, it shall earn legal interest at the rate of twelve percent (12%) per annum from 11 October 2012 until June 2013. Thereafter, it shall earn interest at the rate of six percent ( 6%) per annum until fully satisfied. 2
WHEREFORE, the 04 October 2019 decision of the CA in CA-G.R. CV. NO. 109614 is AFFIRMED with MODIFICATIONS in that Petitioners Attys. Exequiel M. De Guzman and Jaero P. Garcia are directed to RETURN to respondent Offshore Capital Equities, Inc., the sum of Nine Hundred Forty-Five Thousand, Five Hundred Sixty-Seven Pesos and Thirty-Nine Centavos (P945,567.39) with legal interest at the rate of twelve percent (12%) per annum from 11 October 2012 until 30 June 2013. Thereafter, it shall earn interest at the rate of six percent (6%) per annum until fully satisfied.
SO ORDERED."
By authority of the Court:
(SGD.) LIBRADA C. BUENADivision Clerk of Court
by:
MARIA TERESA B. SIBULODeputy Division Clerk of Court
Footnotes
1.Rollo, pp. 28-42; penned by Associate Justice Perpetua Susana T. Atal-Paño and concurred in by Associate Justices Myra V. Garcia-Fernandez and Victoria Isabel A. Paredes of the Special Fifth Division, Court of Appeals, Manila.
2.Remington Industrial Sales Corp. v. Maricalum Mining Corp., 761 Phil. 284 (2015); Nacar v. Gallery Frames, 716 Phil. 267 (2013).