Case Digest (G.R. No. 174134)
Facts:
The petitioners, Heirs of Faustino Mesina and Genoveva S. Mesina, represented by Norman Mesina, filed on August 8, 2005 a complaint for quieting of title and damages in RTC, Baybay, Leyte (Civil Case No. B-05-08-20) against the Heirs of Domingo Fian, Sr., represented by Theresa Fian Yray, alleging installment sale and refusal to surrender possession; the RTC dismissed the complaint on November 22, 2005 for allegedly stating no cause of action and for defective verification, and denied reconsideration on February 29, 2006. The Court of Appeals affirmed on April 29, 2011 and denied reconsideration on April 12, 2012, prompting this Rule 45 petition.
Issues:
- Was the dismissal proper for failure to name all the heirs of the late Heirs of Domingo Fian, Sr. as indispensable parties?
- Was the complaint's verification defective under Section 4, Rule 7 of the Rules of Court such as to warrant dismissal?
Ruling:
The petition was GRANTED. The Supreme Court REVERSED and SET ASIDE the CA Decision and the RTC orders, finding dismissal improper for non-joinder and the verification not fatally defective. Petitioner Norman Mesina was ordered to implead all the heirs of Domingo Fian, Sr. within thirty days from notice of finality, failure of which would result in dismissal; upon compliance, the RTC was directed to expedite adjudication.
Ratio:
The Court held that the defect was non-joinder of indispensable parties, not a failure to state a cause of action, and that non-joinder is remedied by ordering impleading of the absent heirs rather than outright dismissal, citing the rule in Pamplona Plantation Company, Inc. v. Tinghil that dismissal is reserved for refusal to comply with such order. Concerning verification, the Court interpreted Section 4, Rule 7 as permitting verification by personal knowledge or based on authentic records (the disjunctive "or"), thus omission of the phrase does not render verification fatally defective and the court may allow correction or waive strict compliance to serve the ends of justice.
Doctrine:
- Non-joinder of indispensable parties is not per se ground for dismissal; the proper remedy is to order impleading of such parties and dismiss only for failure to comply with that order.
- A complaint states a cause of action when it alleges the plaintiff's legal right, the defendant's correlative obligation, and the defendant's act or omission in violation thereof.
- Verification under Section 4, Rule 7 need not include both personal knowledge and the phrase *based on authentic records* simultaneously, since the provision is disjunctive, and verification is a formal requirement subject to correction or waiver to secure substantial justice.