CIVIL PROCEDURE
Atty. Villareal
Feria-Noche Book
RULE 3
PARTIES TO CIVIL ACTIONS
SEC 1 Who may be parties; plaintiff and defendant
Only natural or juridical persons, or entities authorized by law
may be parties in a civil action.
The term “plaintiff” may refer to the claiming party, the counter-
claimant, the cross-claimant, or the third (fourth, etc)-party
plaintiff.
The term “defendant” may refer to the original defending party,
defendant in a counterclaim, the cross-defendant, or the third
(fourth, etc)-party defendant.
 Example of entity authorized by law
o May be used under common name: 2 or more
persons not organized as an entity with juridical
personality enter into transaction.
o Sole proprietorship: neither a natural nor juridical
person. Law does not vest it with separate legal
personality to file or defend an action in court.
Shall be filed in the name of owner.
 If an association has no juridical personality, all
members thereof must be made parties.
o Exceptions:
1. Persons are so numerous that it is
impracticable to join them all as parties
2. Two or more persons not organized as an
entity with juridical personality enter into a
transaction may be sued under common
name.
o Association without juridical personality has no
capacity to sue
 The State may not be sued without its consent.
o Suit is against the State in the ff instances:
1. When suit is against Republic of the
Philippines
2. When suit is against government office or
agency without juridical personality.
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3. Suit against government agency covered
by a charter with respect to agency’s
performance of governmental function
4. When suit against officers and agents of
government will involve financial liability of
government
 Consent to be sued-how given
o Expressly or impliedly
o Express consent
 when there is a law expressly granting
authority to sue the State or any of its
agencies
o Implied consent
1. When State enters into a private contract
- Civil Aeronautics Administration comes
under the category of a private entity.
It was created to run what is essentially
a business for promotion of travel and
convenience of traveling public
2. When state enters into a business operation,
unless it does so only as a necessary incident
of its prime govt function
- Bureau of Customs and Customs
Arrastre Service is engaged in a
business enterprise. However, it does so
only as a necessary incident of prime
govt function of taxation, hence
immune form suit.
3. When the State sues a private party, unless
the suit is entered into only to resist a claim
4. When there is failure to abide by what the
law or contract requires
- Doctrine of governmental immunity
from suit cannot serve as an instrument
for perpetrating an injustice on a
citizen.
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Atty. Villareal
Feria-Noche Book
-When govt takes any property for
public use, conditioned upon payment
of just compensation, it makes manifest
that it submits to the jurisdiction of a
court.
 How to determine applicability of doctrine of
governmental immunity from suits
o Immunity from suits of government entities is
determined by the character of the objects for
which the entity was organized.
o Suits against state agencies with relation to
matters in which they have assumed to act in a
private or non-government capacity, and
against certain corporations created by state to
engage in matters more of the nature of
ordinary business.
SEC 2 Parties in Interest
A real party in interest is the party who stands to be benefited or
injured by the judgment in the suit or the party entitled to the avails
of the suit. Unless otherwise authorized by law or these Rules, every
action must be prosecuted or defended in the name of the real
party in interest.
 Salonga v Warner Barnes & Co
o All persons who are necessary for a complete
determination or settlement of the question
involved are included in the definition of a
necessary party under Sec 8
o Interest, within the meaning of rules, means --
material interest, an interest in issue and to be
affected by the decree
 as distinguished from mere interest in the
question involved or mere incidental
interest.
 Interest of party must be personal and
not based on desire to vindicate the
constitutional right of a 3rd party.
o Real interest – present substantial interest
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 As distinguished from mere expectancy
or future, contingent, subordinate or
consequential interest.
 Who are real parties in interest
1. Assignee for collection of credits
- Chose capable of legal assignment is assigned
absolutely to one, but assignment is made for
purpose of collection, legal title gests in
assignee. Payment to assigned discharges the
debtor.
2. Corporation sole
- Roman Catholic Bishop of a diocese is the
administrator of temporalities of Roman
Catholic Church
o the parish priests have no control
 Who are not real parties in interest
1. attorney-in-fact
- action upon cause of action pertaining to his
principal cannot be brought by an attorney in
face in his name.
- judgment for or against attorney in fact in no
way binds or affects the principal.
- No adjudication can be made in such
partition case without including the real party
in interest, the one claiming to be entitled to
the partition of the property.
2. agent of a disclosed principal
- resident agent of a foreign insurance
company doing business in PH is not liable as
principal or agent, on insurance contracts
issued in the name of the company.
- There was no contract between agent and
insured.
3. general manager of a bank
- no cause of action for damages exists against
the manager of a bank
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Atty. Villareal
Feria-Noche Book
- such claim should be directed against his
principal, the employer not against manager
personally
SEC 3 Representatives as parties
Where action is allowed to be prosecuted or defended by a
representative or someone acting in a fiduciary capacity, the
beneficiary shall be included in the title of the case and shall be
deemed to be the real arty in interest
A representative may be a trustee of an express trust, a guardian,
an executor or administrator, or a party authorized by law or these
Rules.
An agent acting in his own name and 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.
 Making mandatory the joinder of the beneficiary or the
party for whose benefit the action is brought
 Public interest suit may be brought provided class
benefited is included in the title of the case
SEC 4 Spouses as parties
Husband and wife shall sue or be sued jointly, except as provided
by law
 General Rule
o Husband and wife shall sue or be sued jointly
inasmuch as both are co-administrators of the
community property under the system of
absolute community of property, as well as
conjugal partnership of property.
 Exceptions
o Most important exceptions are cases provided
in Family Code when
1. Spouse without just cause abandons the
other or fails to comply with his or her
obligations to family with respect to marital
or parents or property relations
2. A spouse of age mortgages, encumbers,
alienates or otherwise disposes of his or her
exclusive property
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3. Regime of separation of property governs
property relations between spouses
SEC 5 Minor or incompetent persons
A minor or a person alleged to be incompetent, may sue or be
sued with the assistance of his father, mother, or if he has none, a
guardian ad litem.
 Agre of majority is not 18 years
 age for contracting marriage is also 18
 former provisions on emancipation of minors are no
longer applicable
 no need to be judicially declared to be incompetent in
order that court may appoint a guardian ad litem.
Enough that he be alleged to be incompetent.
SEC 6 Permissive Joinder of Parties
All persons in whom or against whom any right to relief in respect
to or arising out of the same transaction or series of transactions is
alleged to exist, whether jointly, severally or in the alternative, may
except as otherwise provided in these rules, join as plaintiffs or be
joined as defendants in one complaint, where any question of law
or fact common to all such plaintiffs or to all such defendants may
arise in the action; but the court may make such orders as may
be just to prevent any plaintiff or defendant from being
embarrassed or put to expense in connection with any
proceedings in which he may have no interest.
 Requisites for permissive joinder of parties
1. Right to relief in respect to or arising out of the same
transaction or series of transactions
2. Common question of law or fact in the action
 In permissive joinder of parties, aggregate sum of all
claims, determines jurisdiction of court.
SEC 7 Compulsory Joinder of Indispensable Parties
Parties in interest without whom no final determination can be had
of an action shall be joined either as plaintiffs or defendants
 Who is an indispensable party
o A party who has such an interest in the
controversy or subject that a final adjudication
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Atty. Villareal
Feria-Noche Book
cannot be made in his absence without injuring
of affecting that interest
o Person who has not only an interest in subject
matter but also has interest of such nature that
a final decree cannot be made without
affecting his interest that its final determination
may be wholly inconsistent with equity and
good conscience.
 Who is not an indispensable party
o A person is not an indispensable party if his
interest in the controversy or subject matter is
separable from interest of other parties.
o Person is not an indispensable party if his
presence would merely permit complete relief
between him and those already parties to the
action.
o Not sufficient that it will avoid multiple litigation.
 Indispensable parties. Examples.
o Action for partition of an undivided interest in
land cannot be maintained unless all co-owners
are made parties to the action
o Under Art 487 of CC any of co-owners may
bring an action for ejectment
o A co-owner is an indispensable party defendant
o Vendee is an indispensable party in an action
for annulment of contract of sale
 Effect of non-joinder of indispensable parties
o Not a ground for dismissal of an action.
o Remedy is to implead the non-party claimed to
be indispensable.
o Parties may be added by order of court on
motion of party or court’s own initiative
o Only when plaintiff refuses to implead an
indispensable party despite the order or the
court that the latter may dismiss the complaint
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 Indispensable party vs necessary party
Indispensable Necessary
Interest will be affected by Interest in controversy or
court’s action in the litigation subject matter is distinct and
and without whom no final divisible from interest of other
determination can be had parties and will not necessarily
be prejudiced by a judgment
which does complete justice to
parties in court
Joinder under any and all Joined whenever possible.
conditions, his presence being Presence would merely permit
a sine qua non for the exercise complete relief between him
of judicial power and those already parties to
the action
SEC 8 Necessary Party
A necessary party is one who is not indispensable but who ought
to be joined as a party if complete relief is to be accorded as to
those already parties, or for a complete determination or
settlement of the claim subject of the action.
 Necessary parties
o Co-owners of a promissory note are all
necessary parties in an action for its collection
o Principal not a necessary party in an action
against surety who has bound himself jointly and
severally with principal
SEC 9 Non-joinder of necessary parties to be pleaded
Whenever in any pleading in which a claim is asserted a
necessary party is not joined, the pleader shall set forth his name,
if known and shall state why he is omitted. Should court find the
reason for omission unmeritorious, it may order inclusion of omitted
necessary party if jurisdiction over his person may be obtained.
Failure to comply with order for his inclusion, without justifiable
cause, shall be deemed a waiver of claim against such party.
The non-inclusion of a necessary party does not prevent court
from proceeding in the action, and the judgment rendered
therein shall be without prejudice to rights of such necessary
party.
SEC 10 Unwilling co-plaintiff
If the consent of any party who shold be joined as plaintiff
cannot be obtained, he may be made a defendant and reason
thereof shall be stated in the complaint.
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Atty. Villareal
Feria-Noche Book

 Does not apply to an action for partition among co-

owners or co-heirs.

SEC 11 Misjoinder and Non-joinder of parties

Neither misjoinder nor non-joinder of parties is a ground for
dismissal of an action. Parties may be dropped or added by
order of the court on motion of any party or on its own initiative
at any stage of the action and on such terms as are just. Any
claim against a misjoined party may be severed and
proceeded with separately.

 A non-joinder of an indispensable or necessary party is

not by itself ipso facto a ground for dismissal of an
action.
 Court should order the joinder of such party
o non-compliance with said order would be a
ground for dismissal of action
 if complaint states no cause of action against one of
several defendants
o on motion, complaint may be dismissed as to
him
 if court does not order joinder of indispensable party
o validity of judgment may be question on
appeal or certiorari
 Arcelona v CA: absence of indispensable party renders
all subsequent actions of court null and void for want of
authority to act, not only as to absent parties but even
as to those present.

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