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    Ventura vs. Mitilante G.R. No. 63145

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    Marianne Andres
    The petitioner filed a petition for certiorari assailing a trial court order regarding a case filed by a private respondent against the estate of Carlos Ngo. The petitioner argued that a deceased person or their estate cannot be a party to a court action. The Supreme Court agreed, finding that neither a dead person nor their estate has the legal personality required to sue or be sued. While amendments to pleadings are generally allowed, amendments cannot be used to confer jurisdiction on a court that did not originally acquire it, as was the case regarding the private respondent's initial complaint against the deceased Carlos Ngo's estate. The Court therefore ruled that a deceased person or their estate may not be a party in a court action.

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    Ventura vs. Mitilante G.R. No. 63145

    Uploaded by

    Marianne Andres
    328 views2 pages
    The petitioner filed a petition for certiorari assailing a trial court order regarding a case filed by a private respondent against the estate of Carlos Ngo. The petitioner argued that a deceased person or their estate cannot be a party to a court action. The Supreme Court agreed, finding that neither a dead person nor their estate has the legal personality required to sue or be sued. While amendments to pleadings are generally allowed, amendments cannot be used to confer jurisdiction on a court that did not originally acquire it, as was the case regarding the private respondent's initial complaint against the deceased Carlos Ngo's estate. The Court therefore ruled that a deceased person or their estate may not be a party in a court action.

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    The petitioner filed a petition for certiorari assailing a trial court order regarding a case filed by a private respondent against the estate of Carlos Ngo. The petitioner argued that a deceased person or their estate cannot be a party to a court action. The Supreme Court agreed, finding that neither a dead person nor their estate has the legal personality required to sue or be sued. While amendments to pleadings are generally allowed, amendments cannot be used to confer jurisdiction on a court that did not originally acquire it, as was the case regarding the private respondent's initial complaint against the deceased Carlos Ngo's estate. The Court therefore ruled that a deceased person or their estate may not be a party in a court action.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    328 views2 pages

    Ventura vs. Mitilante G.R. No. 63145

    Uploaded by

    Marianne Andres
    The petitioner filed a petition for certiorari assailing a trial court order regarding a case filed by a private respondent against the estate of Carlos Ngo. The petitioner argued that a deceased person or their estate cannot be a party to a court action. The Supreme Court agreed, finding that neither a dead person nor their estate has the legal personality required to sue or be sued. While amendments to pleadings are generally allowed, amendments cannot be used to confer jurisdiction on a court that did not originally acquire it, as was the case regarding the private respondent's initial complaint against the deceased Carlos Ngo's estate. The Court therefore ruled that a deceased person or their estate may not be a party in a court action.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
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    SULPICIA VENTURA, petitioner, vs. HON. FRANCIS J.

    MILITANTE, in His Capacity as Presiding Judge, Regional Trial Court, 7th Judicial District, Branch XII, Cebu City; and JOHN UY, respondent. G.R. No. 63145 October 5, 1999 FACTS: Private respondent filed a Complaint for a Sum of Money and Damages against petitioner. However, petitioner moved to dismiss the foregoing complaint on the ground that the estate of Carlos Ngo has no legal personality, the same being neither a natural nor legal person in contemption of law. The petitioner then filed an opposition to private respondents Motion to Dismiss. The public respondent then gave private respondent 15 days to make the amendment of the complaint. Petitioner filed a MR of the order of public respondent. First, she argued that the action instituted by the private respondent to recover P48, 889.70, representing the unpaid price of the automotive spare parts purchased by her deceased husband during his lifetime, is a money claim which, under Section 21, Rule 3 of the Revised Rules of Court, does not survive, the same having been filed after Carlos Ngo had already died. Second, she claimed that the public respondent never acquired jurisdiction over the subject matter of the case which, being an action to recover a sum of money from a deceased person, may only be heard by a probate court. Private respondent opposed the foregoing motion. Public respondent then issued an Order giving private respondent 24 hours to file his amended complaint. Private respondent then filed his amended complaint. Petitioner then filed a Comment to Plaintiffs Amended Complaint. Private respondent then filed A Rejoinder to Defendants Comment. Public respondent then issued the herein assailed order. Hence, the present Petition for Certiorari assailing the said Order. ISSUE: WON A DEAD PERSON OR HIS ESTATE MAY BE A PARTY PLAINTIFF IN A COURT ACTION. HELD: No. Firstly, neither a dead person nor his estate may be a party plaintiff in a court action. A deceased person does not have such legal entity as is necessary to bring action so much so that a motion to substitute cannot lie and should be denied by the court. An action begun by a decedent's estate cannot be said to have been begun by a legal person, since an estate is not a legal entity; such an action is a nullity and a motion to amend the party plaintiff will not likewise lie, there being nothing before the court to amend. Considering that capacity to be sued is a correlative of the capacity to sue, to the same extent, a decedent does not have the capacity to be sued and may not be named a party defendant in a court action. .

    Secondly, It is clear that the original complaint of private respondent against the estate of
    Carlos Ngo was a suit against Carlos Ngo himself who was already dead at the time of the filing of said complaint. At that time, and this private respondent admitted, no special proceeding to settle his estate had been filed in court. As such, the trial court did not acquire jurisdiction over either the deceased Carlos Ngo or his estate. It is true that amendments to pleadings are liberally allowed in furtherance of justice, in order that every case may so far as possible be determined on its real facts, and in order to speed the trial of causes or prevent the circuitry of action and unnecessary expense. But amendments cannot be allowed so as to confer jurisdiction upon a court that never acquired it in the first

    place. When it is evident that the court has no jurisdiction over the person and the subject matter and that the pleading is so fatally defective as not to be susceptible of amendment, or that to permit such amendment would radically alter the theory and the nature of the action, then the court should refuse the amendment of the defective pleading and order the dismissal of the case.

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