4/9/2020 E-Library - Information At Your Fingertips: Printer Friendly Records disclose that Rocha was first impleaded in the case by Pioneer Insurance. Pioneer Insurance, as surety, was sued by respondents together with C.F. Sharp. Pioneer Insurance in turn filed a third party complaint against Rocha on the basis of an Indemnity Agreement whereby he bound himself to indemnify and hold harmless Pioneer Insurance from and against any and all damages which the latter may incur in consequence of having become a surety.[5] The third party complaint partakes the nature of a cross-claim. C.F. Sharp, as defendant-appellant and Rocha, as third-party defendant-appellant, filed only one brief before the Court of Appeals essentially questioning the declaration of the trial court that non-deployment is tantamount to breach of contract and the award of damages. The Court of Appeals found them both liable for damages. Both C.F. Sharp and Rocha sought recourse before this Court via a Motion for Extension of Time (To File a Petition for Review) on 19 September 2007.[6] In the Petition for Review, however, C.F. Sharp was noticeably dropped as petitioner. Rocha maintains essentially the same argument that he and C.F. Sharp were wrongfully adjudged liable for damages. It was only in its Reply dated 25 March 2008 that Rocha, through a new representation, suddenly forwarded the argument that he should not be held liable as an officer of C.F. Sharp. It is too late in the day for Rocha to change his theory. It is doctrinal that defenses not pleaded in the answer may not be raised for the first time on appeal. A party cannot, on appeal, change fundamentally the nature of the issue in the case. When a party deliberately adopts a certain theory and the case is decided upon that theory in the court below, he will not be permitted to change the same on appeal, because to permit him to do so would be unfair to the adverse party.[7] More so in this case, where Rocha introduced a new theory at the Reply stage. Disingenuousness may even be indicated by the sudden exclusion of the name of C.F. Sharp from the main petition even as Rocha posited arguments not just for himself and also in behalf of C.F. Sharp. The core issue pertains to damages. The bases of the lower courts’ award of damages differ. In upholding the perfection of contract between respondents and C.F. Sharp, the trial court stated that the unjustified failure to deploy and subsequently release the documents of respondents entitled them to compensatory damages, among others. Differently, the appellate court found that no contract was perfected between the parties that will give rise to a breach of contract. Thus, the appellate court deleted the award of actual damages. However, it adjudged other damages against C.F. Sharp for its unlawful withholding of documents from respondents. We sustain the trial court’s ruling. On the issue of whether respondents are entitled to relief for failure to deploy them, the RTC ruled in this wise: elibrary.judiciary.gov.ph/thebookshelf/showdocsfriendly/1/21758 4/11