Intellectual Property
D E C I S I O N
LEONARDO-DE CASTRO, J.:
Before the Court are consolidated Petitions for Review on Certiorari under Rule 45 of the Rules of Court, which arose out of two civil cases that were filed in different courts but whose factual background and issues are closely intertwined.
The petitions in G.R. Nos. 1250781 and 1255982 both assail the Order3 dated May 20, 1996 of the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of General Santos City, Branch 37, in Civil Case No. 5617. The said Order decreed the dismissal of the case in view of the perceived lack of jurisdiction of the RTC over the subject matter of the complaint. The petition in G.R. No. 125598 also challenges the Orders dated June 4, 19964 and July 9, 1996,5 which held that the RTC of General Santos City no longer had jurisdiction to proceed with Civil Case No. 5617.
On the other hand, the petitions in G.R. Nos. 126654,6 127856,7 and 1283988 seek the reversal of the Order9 dated October 1, 1996 of the RTC of Davao City, Branch 16, in Civil Case No. 24,251-96, which also dismissed the case on the ground of lack of jurisdiction.
G.R. Nos. 125078, 125598, 126654, 127856, and 128398 were consolidated in the Resolutions dated February 10, 1997,10 April 28, 199711 and March 10, 1999.12
The factual antecedents of the petitions are as follows:
Proceedings before the Texas Courts
Beginning 1993, a number of personal injury suits were filed in different Texas state courts by citizens of twelve foreign countries, including the Philippines. The thousands of plaintiffs sought damages for injuries they allegedly sustained from their exposure to dibromochloropropane (DBCP), a chemical used to kill nematodes (worms), while working on farms in 23 foreign countries. The cases were eventually transferred to, and consolidated in, the Federal District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division. The cases therein that involved plaintiffs from the Philippines were "Jorge Colindres Carcamo, et al. v. Shell
LEONARDO-DE CASTRO, J.:
Before the Court are consolidated Petitions for Review on Certiorari under Rule 45 of the Rules of Court, which arose out of two civil cases that were filed in different courts but whose factual background and issues are closely intertwined.
The petitions in G.R. Nos. 1250781 and 1255982 both assail the Order3 dated May 20, 1996 of the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of General Santos City, Branch 37, in Civil Case No. 5617. The said Order decreed the dismissal of the case in view of the perceived lack of jurisdiction of the RTC over the subject matter of the complaint. The petition in G.R. No. 125598 also challenges the Orders dated June 4, 19964 and July 9, 1996,5 which held that the RTC of General Santos City no longer had jurisdiction to proceed with Civil Case No. 5617.
On the other hand, the petitions in G.R. Nos. 126654,6 127856,7 and 1283988 seek the reversal of the Order9 dated October 1, 1996 of the RTC of Davao City, Branch 16, in Civil Case No. 24,251-96, which also dismissed the case on the ground of lack of jurisdiction.
G.R. Nos. 125078, 125598, 126654, 127856, and 128398 were consolidated in the Resolutions dated February 10, 1997,10 April 28, 199711 and March 10, 1999.12
The factual antecedents of the petitions are as follows:
Proceedings before the Texas Courts
Beginning 1993, a number of personal injury suits were filed in different Texas state courts by citizens of twelve foreign countries, including the Philippines. The thousands of plaintiffs sought damages for injuries they allegedly sustained from their exposure to dibromochloropropane (DBCP), a chemical used to kill nematodes (worms), while working on farms in 23 foreign countries. The cases were eventually transferred to, and consolidated in, the Federal District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division. The cases therein that involved plaintiffs from the Philippines were "Jorge Colindres Carcamo, et al. v. Shell