The Supreme Court has ordered the dismissal of ABS-CBN Corporation鈥檚 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鈥檚 Third Division took judicial notice of an earlier decision by the SC First Division, which found ABS-CBN guilty of 鈥渇orum shopping鈥� 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 鈥淲iling Willie鈥� 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鈥檚 alleged violation of their contract.
鈥淭his clearly shows that ABS-CBN willfully sought the same relief in two different fora, expecting a favorable result after being denied the first time,鈥� 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.