Scribd
Upload
2K views2 pages

Perez Vs Catindig

Dr. Elmar Perez filed a case to disbar Atty. Tristan Catindig and Atty. Karen Baydo for gross immoral conduct. The facts show that Catindig was already married but courted and married Perez, promising to divorce his first wife but did not. This subsequent marriage to Perez while still married constitutes gross immorality. Baydo was accused of an affair with Catindig but there was lack of evidence to support this. The court dismissed the case against Baydo but disbarred Catindig for his grossly immoral conduct of entering into a bigamous marriage with Perez.

Uploaded by

Toni Calsado
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
2K views2 pages

Perez Vs Catindig

Dr. Elmar Perez filed a case to disbar Atty. Tristan Catindig and Atty. Karen Baydo for gross immoral conduct. The facts show that Catindig was already married but courted and married Perez, promising to divorce his first wife but did not. This subsequent marriage to Perez while still married constitutes gross immorality. Baydo was accused of an affair with Catindig but there was lack of evidence to support this. The court dismissed the case against Baydo but disbarred Catindig for his grossly immoral conduct of entering into a bigamous marriage with Perez.

Uploaded by

Toni Calsado
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 2

DR. ELMAR O.

PEREZ
vs
ATTY. TRISTAN A. CATINDIG AND ATTY. KAREN E. BAYDO
A.C. No. 5816 March 10, 2015 Per Curiam
Legal Ethics: Unlawful Schemes, Immoral or Deceitful Conduct

DOCTRINE:
“A lawyer may be suspended or disbarred for any misconduct showing any fault or deficiency in his moral
character, honesty, probity or good demeanor.”35 Immoral conduct involves acts that are willful, flagrant, or
shameless, and that show a moral indifference to the opinion of the upright and respectable members of the
community. Immoral conduct is gross when it is so corrupt as to constitute a criminal act, or so unprincipled as
to be reprehensible to a high degree, or when committed under such scandalous or revolting circumstances as to
shock the community’s sense of decency.
FACTS:
Perez and Catindig were friends in the 60s but they lost touch. In the 80s, Catindig started courting Perez.
Catindig confessed that he was married since 1968 but he said he only did it because he got his wife pregnant.
After the relationship progressed, Catindig promised to get a divorce somewhere so that he could legally marry
Perez. He got a divorce in Dominican Republic and married Perez in Virginia and Perez bore a child. Later, Perez
found out that her marriage to Catindig was null because the Philippines did not recognize the divorce he got in
Dominican Republic. Perez was furious and to appease her, he said that he’d get the marriage annulled. Years
later, Perez found out the Catindig was courting an Atty Baydo and they were seen frequently in his upscale
condo in Makati. Finding out about this affair, she filed a case to disbar Catindig and Baydo for gross immoral
conduct. This was denied by Catindig. He said that he was still married to his first wife and Perez knew that. He
contracted marriage with Perez but the relationship went sour. Baydo said that Catindig did try to court him but
she rejected him because he was too old and was married.
ISSUE:
Whether Atty. Catindig and Atty. Baydo committed gross immorality, which would warrant their disbarment.
Only Catindig.
DECISION:
WHEREFORE, in consideration of the foregoing disquisitions, the Court resolves to ADOPT the
recommendations of the Commission on Bar Discipline of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines. Atty. Tristan
A. Catindig is found GUILTY of gross immorality and of violating the Lawyer’s Oath and Rule 1.01, Canon 7
and Rule 7.03 of the Code of Professional Responsibility and is hereby DISBARRED from the practice of law.

Let a copy of this Decision be entered into the records of Atty. Tristan A. Catindig in the Office of the Bar
Confidant and his name is ORDERED STRICKEN from the Roll of Attorneys. Likewise, copies of this
Decision shall be furnished to the Integrated Bar of the Philippines and circulated by the Court Administrator
to all appellate and trial courts.
The charge of gross immorality against Atty. Karen E. Baydo is hereby DISMISSED for lack of evidence.

HELD:
Contracting a marriage during the subsistence of a previous one amounts to a grossly immoral
conduct. Catindig contracting a subsequent marriage is gross immoral conduct which is a ground for
disbarment. His affair with Baydo is unfounded so the case against Baydo is dismissed due to lack of
evidence.

You might also like

pFad - Phonifier reborn

Pfad - The Proxy pFad of © 2024 Garber Painting. All rights reserved.

Note: This service is not intended for secure transactions such as banking, social media, email, or purchasing. Use at your own risk. We assume no liability whatsoever for broken pages.


Alternative Proxies:

Alternative Proxy

pFad Proxy

pFad v3 Proxy

pFad v4 Proxy