Practice question
A trial court convicted the accused and imposed civil damages solely ex delicto. The accused timely appealed and died before the appeal was resolved. The complainant argues that any trial conviction already counts as final judgment for Bayotas. Which is correct?
- Every trial judgment is immediately final despite a pending timely appeal.
- The civil award must be affirmed without examining the timing.
- The complainant may finish the prosecution against the heirs.
- The judgment was not yet final; the solely ex delicto liability is extinguished, without foreclosing a properly based claim from another source.
- All unrelated contracts are also erased.
Legal references
- https://lawphil.net/courts/rules/rc_110-127_crim.html — Rule 111 section 4: death after arraignment, independent sources, substitution, estate enforcement and death before arraignment.
- https://lawphil.net/judjuris/juri1994/sep1994/gr_102007_1994.html — People v. Bayotas, G.R. 102007, September 2, 1994, main opinion: death before final judgment and distinct sources.
- https://lawphil.net/statutes/repacts/ra1949/ra_386_1949.html — Civil Code articles 1157 and 1155: sources of obligations and interruption discussed in Bayotas.
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