Oral pronouncement is not final until signing; a court may still alter the judgment before signature.

An orally pronounced judgment does not attain finality merely on delivery in open court; under the procedural framework discussed, signing and dating complete the judgment and perfect its operative effect. Until that stage, the court retains control over the matter and may withdraw, alter, or modify the pronounced result. On that basis, the court treated a pre-signature request for further hearing and conversion of the proceeding from appeal to revision as maintainable, because the judgment had not yet been signed and sealed.

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Issues: Whether a judgment orally pronounced in open court becomes final and unalterable before it is signed and sealed, and whether the Court can entertain an application seeking further hearing and conversion of the matter from appeal to revision before signing the judgment.

Analysis: The relevant procedural framework under the Code of Civil Procedure required pronouncement of judgment in open court and, in appellate matters, signing and dating of the judgment on pronouncement. The signing of the judgment was treated as the act that perfects it and gives it finality. Until that stage is reached, the pronouncement remains incomplete and may be withdrawn, altered, or modified. The Court distinguished authorities dealing with situations where a judgment had already become operative by delivery or where a different procedural situation arose, and held that the decisive factor was whether the judgment had been signed. Since the judgment had not been signed when the application was made, the Court retained control over the matter and could reconsider the previously dictated result.

Conclusion: An orally pronounced judgment may be withdrawn, altered, or modified before it is signed, and the application for further hearing was maintainable.

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