The Supreme Court has ordered the dismissal of ABS-CBN Corporation’s over P1-billion counterclaim against former television host Willie Revillame, whom the media giant accused of breach of contract.
In a 22-page decision penned by Justice Maria Filomena Singh, the high court’s Third Division took judicial notice of an earlier decision by the SC First Division, which found ABS-CBN guilty of “forum shopping” for the copyright infringement complaint against Revillame.
The SC found that ABS-CBN first sought a temporary restraining order (TRO) from the Quezon City Regional Trial Court (RTC) to prevent the airing of “Wiling Willie” on TV5 on the ground that Revillame was still bound by its contract with ABS-CBN.
After the application for TRO was denied, ABS-CBN then went to the Makati RTC to file a copyright infringement complaint on the similar ground of Revillame’s alleged violation of their contract.
“This clearly shows that ABS-CBN willfully sought the same relief in two different fora, expecting a favorable result after being denied the first time,” the SC said.
The legal dispute between Revillame and ABS-CBN began in August 2010, when the TV host filed a case seeking to terminate and rescind his three-year contract with ABS-CBN. On Sept. 15, 2010, ABS-CBN filed its compulsory counterclaim and asked for liquidated damages of P1.1 billion.