G.R. No. 1195 , February 20, 1903
TRANQUILINA ALMADIN, petitioner, vs. CELESTINO ALMADIN, respondent.

FACTS:
This is an application to set aside a judgment of the Court of First Instance of Laguna rendered on October 1, 1902. The application was filed under Section 513 of the Code of Civil Procedure ( Act No. 190 ), which governs relief from judgments rendered by default due to fraud, accident, or mistake. The record shows that on October 6, 1902, the defendant (petitioner here) filed a motion for a new trial in the Court of First Instance, supported by an affidavit explaining his failure to attend the trial. The Court of First Instance subsequently overruled this motion on January 31, 1903. The petition to the Supreme Court to set aside the judgment was filed on February 2, 1903.

ISSUE:
Whether the petition to the Supreme Court to set aside the judgment was filed within the 60-day period prescribed by Section 513 of the Code of Civil Procedure.

RULING:
No. The Supreme Court denied the petition for being filed out of time. Section 513 explicitly requires that the petition to the Supreme Court “shall be made within sixty days after the complainant first learns of the rendition of such judgment and not thereafter.” The Court held that the defendant must be deemed to have learned of the rendition of the default judgment on the date he filed his motion for a new trial in the Court of First Instance, which was October 6, 1902. Consequently, the 60-day period for filing the petition in the Supreme Court expired on December 6, 1902. The petition filed on February 2, 1903, was therefore untimely. The Court found it unnecessary to consider the merits of the case. The application was overruled, with costs against the petitioner.