Remedial Law (Civil Procedure)

1. RULE 3
PARTIES TO CIVIL ACTION
 Judgment cannot be binding upon or cannot be enforced against one who is
not a party to a case.
 Parties in a civil action:
a. Natural
b. Juridical persons
c. Entities authorized by law
 Juridical persons under Article 44 of the Civil Code
a. The State and its political subdivisions;
b. Corporations, institutions and entities for public interest or purposes,
created by law; and
c. Corporations, partnerships and associations for private interest or purpose
to which the law grants juridical personality, separate and distinct from
that of each shareholder, partner or member.
 Entities (not juridical) authorized by law to be parties to a suit include:
a. a registered labor union with respect to its properties;
b. The Roman Catholic Church
c. Estate of deceased person
d. A political party
e. An entity not possessed of a legal personality who enters into a contract
under the representation that it was possessed of juridical personality to do
so is estopped from denying such personality.
 A political party incorporated under BP Blg. 68, Corporation Code is
authorized by law to be a party to a suit.
 Reason why political party recognized to file a suit: the consequent climate of
legal confusion and political instability begs for judicial statesmanship. In the
final analysis, when the system of constitutional law is threatened by the
political ambitions of man, only the Supreme Court can save a nation in peril
and uphold the paramount majesty of the Constitution.
 REAL PARTY IN INTEREST means material interest or an interest in issue and
to be affected by the judgment, as distinguished from mere interest in the
question involved or a mere incidental interest (or from a mere expentancy,
or a future, contingent, subordinate or consequential interest)
 Who can invoke the jurisdiction of court as party-plaintiff in an action?
ANSWER: one who has a right or interest to protect
 Real parties in interest are indispensable parties.
 There are two conditions required:
First, that the party qualified to bring the action must be the real person in
interest; and
Second, that the action must be in the name of the real party in interest.
 In exceptional cases, a final decree of distribution of the estate may be set
aside for lack of jurisdiction or fraud. In Ramon v. Ortuzar, the court rules that
a party in interest in the probate proceeding may have the final liquidation

2. set aside when he is left out by reason or circumstances beyond his control or
through mistake or inadvertence not imputable to negligence.
 Estate has legal personality. The administratrix should be allowed by the RTC
to implead the estate.
 A representative may be:
a. A trustee of an express trust, a guardian, an executor or administrator; or
b. A party authorized by law or these Rules
c. An agent acting in his own name or for the benefit of an undisclosed
principal may sue or be sued without joining the principal except when the
contract involves things belonging to the principal.
 Failure to implead an indispensable party is a ground for dismissal.
 Parties in interest may be classified and defined as follows:
1. Representative parties –Section 3
2. Indispensable parties – those without whom no final determination can be
had of an action;
3. Necessary parties – those who are not indispensable but are ought to be
parties if complete relief is to be accorded as to those already parties, or
for a complete determination of settlement of the claim subject of the
action.
4. Pro forma parties – those who are required to be joined as co-party in suits
by or against another party as may be provided by applicable substantive
law or procedural rule.
5. Quasi Parties – Those in whose behalf a class or representative suit is
brought.
 Husband and wife shall sue and be sued jointly except as provided by law.
 Administration of the community property or conjugal property jointly belongs
to the husband and wife. Hence, the wife as co-administrator of the
community or conjugal property has the legal personality to institute the
action for unlawful detainer.
 Rule 92 Sec 2 enumerated the persons who are incompetent which includes
the:
a. Persons suffering the penalty of civil interdiction, or
b. Who are hospitalized lepers;
c. Prodigals
d. Deaf and dumb who are unable to read and write;
e. Those who are of unsound mind, even though they have lucid intervals,
and persons not being of unsound mind, by reason of age, disease, weak
mind, and other similar causes cannot, without outside aid, take care of
themselves and manage their property becoming thereby an easy prey for
deceit and exploitation.
 Requirements for permissive joinder of parties:
a. Right to relief arises out of the same transaction or series of transactions;
b. There is a question of law or fact common to all plaintiffs or defendants;
c. Such joinder is not otherwise proscribed by the provisions of the Rules on
jurisdiction and venue.
 This section is subject to the totality rule involving different parties.

3.  Necessary parties are those whose presence is necessary to adjudicate the
whole controversy but whose interests are so far separable that a final decree
can be made in their absence without affecting them.
 Each debtor is liable for the entire obligation in case there is solidary
obligation. Either of the parties is indispensable and the other is not even a
necessary party because complete relief is available from either.
 In an action involving title to land, all persons claiming interest as grantees
may be joined as parties, if such joinder does not deprive the court of
jurisdiction, since their presence is necessary for a final disposition of all
questions of title. If they cannot be joined, the complaint should so state and
give the reasons.
 The petition for inclusion of necessary party should be done before judgment.
 Although the action would be ordinarily dismissed because of the failure of
the plaintiff to set forth the names of all persons who ought to be parties if
complete relief is to be granted, a motion to dismiss on that ground will be
denied if all the necessary parties unite in submitting the case on the merits.
 Unwilling plaintiff may be made a defendant.
 It is only when the consent of the party who should be joined as plaintiff can
not be obtained, that he may be made a defendant and the reason therefore
shall be stated in the complaint.
 Objection to misjoinder should be made at the earliest opportunity, the
moment such defects become apparent.
 If the case is erroneously dismissed on the ground under Sec.11, misjoinder
and non-joinder of parties without stating that it is without prejudice and
plaintiff did not appeal, such dismissal bars the filing of another action on the
same cause.
 Objection to misjoinder cannot be raised for the first time on appeal.
 Class suit. A member of the class is bound by the judgment in the class suit
hence this section gives him the right to intervene if he desires to protect his
own individual interest. The parties who brought the class suit have control
over the case with the right to compromise or even discontinue the same.
 “Doubt” (uncertain) means fair doubt as to whom plaintiff should look to in
order to right a single wrong, and not a doubt as to whether one person or
several persons are separately liable to plaintiff; it does not authorize a
misjoinder of parties or a joinder in the alternative of defendants against
whom distinct causes of action are asserted; nor does it authorize a person
concerning whom no uncertainty exists, to be joined with other parties who
are possibly liable or the joinder of parties in the alternative where no
unconditional liability against either is alleged.
 Problem: The owner of the goods is not sure whether the same was lost in
transit or while it was on deposit in the warehouse of the arrastre operator.
Remedy: Sue the shipper and the operator in the alternative although the
right against the former is on admiralty while the latter is on contract.

4.  If a plaintiff is in doubt, he may join two or more defendants with a view to
ascertain who is liable.
 The very basis of this statutory procedure or rule against unknown parties is
that parties so proceeded against are in fact unknown. This presupposes that
the plaintiff really does not know the identity and/or address of the defendant
or is not in the position to ascertain such identity or wnereabouts.
 Purpose of Section 16. Death of party; duty of counsel: To establish a basis
for order of substitution.
 The Attorney has no further authority to appear save to inform the court of
his clients death and to take steps to safeguard the decedent’s interest,
unless his services are further by the substitute parties.
 In substitution of the deceased, priority is given to his executor or
administrator but the court may allow the substitution by the legal heirs if
there is unreasonable delay in the appointment of an executor or
administrator or when the estate was extrajudicially settled.
 Compliance with Section 17. Death or separation of a party who is a public
officer (xxx satisfactorily shown that there is a substantial need for
continuing or maintaining it and the successor adopts or threatens to adopt
or continue the action of his predecessor. Before a substitution is made, the
party or officer to be affected, unless expressly assenting thereto, shall be
given reasonable notice of the application and accorded an opportunity to be
heard.), hence failure to comply.
 A pauper is a person so poor that he must be supported at public expenses. A
suitor who on account of poverty is allowed to sue or defend without being
chargeable with cost.
 INDIGENT LITIGANT is not really a pauper but a person who is indigent
although not a public charge. If a person has no property or income sufficient
for his support aside from his labor, even if he is self supporting when able to
work and in employment.
 The appearance of the Solicitor General is required in any action involving
the validity of any treaty, law, ordinance, executive order, presidential
decree, rules or regulations, to represent the government of the Philippines,
its agencies and instrumentalities and its official agents in any litigation,
proceeding or investigation or matter requiring the services of a lawyer.