legal management cases

1. LEGAL MANAGEMENT
CASES

2. Problem 1
Mel Vanco is a well-known newspaper columnist. She signed a contract with
PQI Daily to write a weekly column in the Lifestyle Section of the paper. She
was paid a monthly remuneration of P311,000.00. The column had been in
print for almost two years when the paper decided to cancel the column upon
the expiration of its latest contract with Ms. Vanco. The columnist protested
the discontinuance of her monthly talent fee, claiming that it was tantamount
to her illegal dismissal from the newspaper since she has already attained the
status of a regular employee.
a) As the newspaper’s legal counsel, how would you justify its decision to
cancel Ms. Vanco’s program which in effect terminated her services in the
process?
b) Is Ms. Vanco a regular employee?

3. ANSWERS:
(a)
As the newspaper’s legal counsel, I would justify its decision to cancel
Ms. Vanco’s column by arguing that newspaper columnists are not
employees of the newspapers.
Under the control test, in order for an employer-employee relation to
exist, the employer must have control not only as to the result of the
work done but also as to the means and methods to accomplish it.
Here the newspaper evidently does not have control as to how Ms.
Vanco would write her article nor as to the result of her writing.
Hence Ms. Vanco is not an employee and the the cancellation or non-
renewal of her contract would not amount to an illegal dismissal.

4. (b)
Ms. Vanco is not a regular employee but a project employee.
Under the Labor Code, a project employee is one whose
employment has been fixed for a specific project or undertaking
the completion or termination of which has been determined at
the time of the engagement of the employee.
Here the employment of Ms. Vanco had been fixed for a specific
project, which is the writing of columns, and which completion
has been determined at the time of her engagement.
Hence Ms. Vanco is a project employee.

5. Problem 2
Denzel worked as ship captain in MV Geckos, a Greek cruise ship based
on a POEA approved Contract of Employment with a term commencing on
June 9, 2012 until June 11, 2013. But due to the financial difficulties in
Greece, the owner of the vessel decided to downsize its operation and
Denzel was repatriated on November 12, 2012. Denzel, upon returning to
the Philippines filed a case for illegal dismissal with the Labor Arbiter
against the placement agency and prayed that he be reinstated to his
former position without loss of seniority rights plus backwages and
attorney’s fees.
a) Will the case proper?
b) Assuming arguendo that the case for illegal dismissal would not
prosper, is there any other remedy that Denzel can pursue?

6. Answers:
a) No, the case will not prosper.
Under the Law on Labor Standards, an OFW does not
become a regular employee no matter how long he
serves the foreign principal.
b) Under the Law on Labor Standards, Denzel can file a
case with the Labor Arbiter for money claims for unpaid
salaries for seven months and if he paid placement fees
he can recover the amount of placement fees plus 12%
interest per annum.

7. Problem 3
Dr. Manang Angal just like most of the professors in the college
of medicine is teaching a load of about 12 to 15 units per
semester. On his tenth year as professor he was not given a
teaching load. Dr. Angal filed a case for illegal dismissal with
the Labor Arbiter. Will he win his case?
Answer:
No, Dr. Angal will not win his case.
Under the Law on Labor Relations, part-time teachers will not
attain permanent status no matter how long they have served
the school.

8. ART. 280. Regular and Casual Employment.— The provisions
of written agreement to the contrary notwithstanding and
regardless of the oral agreement of the parties, an employment
shall be deemed to be regular where the employee has been
engaged to perform activities which are usually necessary or
desirable in the usual business or trade of the employer, except
where the employment has been fixed for a specific
project or undertaking the completion or termination
of which has been determined at the time of the
engagement of the employee or where the work or service
to be performed is seasonal in nature and the employment is for
the duration of the season.

9. An employment shall be deemed to be casual if it
is not covered by the preceding paragraph:
Provided, That, any employee who has rendered
at least one year of service, whether such service
is continuous or broken, shall be considered a
regular employee with respect to the activity in
which he is employed and his employment shall
continue while such actually exists.

10. The foregoing contemplates four (4) kinds of employees:
(a)regular employees or those who have been “engaged to perform
activities which are usually necessary or desirable in the usual business
or trade of the employer”;
(b)project employees or those “whose employment has been fixed for a
specific project or undertaking[,] the completion or termination of
which has been determined at the time of the engagement of the
employee”;
(c)seasonal employees or those who work or perform services which are
seasonal in nature, and the employment is for the duration of the
season;and
(d)casual employees or those who are not regular, project, or seasonal
employees.
(e)Jurisprudence has added a fifth kind— a fixed-term employee.

11. Problem 4
Pablo, a rich merchant in his early forties, was a defendant in a lawsuit
which could subject him to taxes and substantial damages. A year
before the court rendered judgment, Pablo sought his lawyer’s advice
on how to plan his estate to avoid taxes. His lawyer suggested that he
should form a corporation with himself, his wife and his children ( all
students and still unemployed) as stockholders and transfer all his
assets and liabilities to this corporation. Pablo followed the
recommendation of his lawyer. One year later, the court rendered
judgment against Pablo and the plaintiff sought to enforce this
judgment.The sheriff, however, could not locate any property in the
name of Pablo and therefore returned the writ of execution unsatisfied.
What remedy, if any , is available to the plaintiff?

12. Answer:
The plaintiff may invoke or ask the court to pierce the corporate fiction
of the newly formed corporation of Pablo. While it is true that a family
corporation may be organized to pursue estate tax planning, which is
not per se illegal, the facts, however, indicate the existence of a lawsuit
that eventually exposed Pablo to a substantial amount of damages. It
would be difficult for Pablo to convincingly assert that the incorporation
of the corporation was intended merely as a case of estate tax
planning. It cannot be denied that the corporation was incorporated and
organised for Pablo to avoid a just obligation. The separate personality
of the corporation cannot be used as a shield to avoid a clear legal
obligation, and thus it should be treated as a mere association of
persons upon whom liability attaches.

13. As a general rule, the liability of a corporation
is separate and distinct from that of the
persons comprising it. However, as an
exception to the rule,the veil of corporate
fiction may be pierced when the separate
personality of the corporation is used as a
shield to avoid a clear legal obligation. In such
an event, it is treated as a mere association of
persons upon whom liability attaches.

14. Problem 5
Using a personal check, Julia bought a Toyota Altis car from
United Car Sales Center (UCSC). The car was delivered the
same day. When the seller presented the check for payment the
following day, the check was dishonored by the drawee bank on
the ground of insufficient funds. Unfortunately, Julia was nowhere
to be found. Meanwhile, UCSC discovered that the car had been
sold and delivered by Julia to Romeo, who knew nothing about
the problem with Julia’s check. UCSC then filed an action to
recover the car from Romeo, claiming that the sale to Julia was
void. Can the suit prosper? Explain.

15. Answer
No, UCSC’s suit to recover the car from Romeo cannot prosper.
Under the Law on Sales, where the seller of goods has a voidable
title but his title has not been annulled at the time of the sale, the
seller can transfer title to a buyer in good faith. [Art. 1506]
Here the sale to Julia was not void but voidable since there the
consent was vitiated by fraud and the sale has not been annulled.
Hence Julia has a voidable title and she was able to transfer title
to Romeo who was in good faith as she knew nothing about the
problem with Julia’s check. Thus UCSC cannot recover the car
from Romeo who had acquired title thereto.

16. The greatest glory in living
lies not in never falling, but
in rising every time we fall.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

17. Life is to be enjoyed, not just endured. Do what makes
you happy, be with who makes you smile, laugh as much
as you breathe, and love as long as you live. Stop
seeking out the storms and enjoy more fully the sunlight.
Don't ask yourself what the world needs; ask yourself
what makes you come alive. - Anonymous

18. thank you and
congratulations