Marilou Fajardo v. Barrington Carpets

Summary

In this case, Marilou Fajardo petitioned the Supreme Court to reverse the Court of Appeals decision that affirmed her liability for misappropriated amounts from her former employer, Barrington Carpets, Inc. The central issue was jurisdictional - whether the case should be heard by labor tribunals or regular courts. The Supreme Court denied the petition, affirming that despite the employer-employee relationship between the parties, the cause of action was based on tort under Articles 19 and 20 of the Civil Code, not on any labor-related claim. The Court ruled that when a cause of action has no reasonable causal connection with the employment relationship or Labor Code provisions, jurisdiction properly lies with regular courts rather than labor tribunals. The decision reinforces the principle that the nature of the cause of action, not the relationship between parties, determines proper jurisdiction.