Claim of Damages vs. Plaintiff; Damnum Absque Injuria

A resort to judicial processes is not, per se, evidence of ill will upon which a claim for damages may be based. In China Banking Corporation v. Court of Appeals, the Supreme Court held:

Settled in our jurisprudence is the rule that moral damages cannot be recovered from a person who has filed a complaint against another in good faith, or without malice or bad faith (Philippine National Bank v. Court of Appeals, 159 SCRA 433 [1988]; R & B Surety and Insurance v. Intermediate Appellate Court, 129 SCRA 736 [1984]). If damage results from the filing of the complaint, it is damnum absque injuria (Ilocos Norte Electrical Company v. Court of Appeals, 179 SCRA 5 [1989]).

In the present case, the Court agrees with the RTC and the CA that petitioners failed to establish that respondents were moved by bad faith or malice in impleading Patricia and Benjamin. Hence, Patricia and Benjamin are not entitled to damages. (G.R. No. 155033; December 19, 2007)