Facts:

• Alfredo Sering filed a forcible entry suit against Restituto Plazo and Gertrudes Suan in the Municipal Court of Del Carmen, Surigao del Norte, on October 14, 1974 (Civil Case No. 82).
• The Municipal Court ruled in favor of Sering, leading the Plazo spouses to appeal to the Court of First Instance of Surigao del Norte.
• During the appeal, the Plazos discovered that Sering was not the sole owner of the property; it was co-owned with others.
• The Plazos filed a motion to implead the other co-owners as indispensable parties, arguing their absence would affect the case's resolution.
• The Court of First Instance agreed and ordered Sering to amend his complaint to include the co-owners.
• Sering argued that under Article 487 of the Civil Code, any co-owner could initiate an ejectment action without joining others.
• The Plazos contended that Article 487 applied only to unlawful detainer cases, not forcible entry actions.
• Sering's failure to comply with the court's order led to the dismissal of his case and the denial of his motion for reconsideration.
• Sering sought relief from the Supreme Court to nullify the dismissal and the denial of his motion.

Issue:

• (Unlock)

Ruling:

• The Supreme Court ruled in favor of Alfredo Sering, reversing the lower court's dismissal of his complaint and the denial of his motion for reconsideration.
• The Court held that a co-owner may bring an ejectment action without the necessity of joining other co...(Unlock)

Ratio:

• The Court's decision was based on the interpretation of Article 487 of the Civil Code, which allows any co-owner to initiate an ejectment action for the benefit of all co-owners.
• The essence of a forcible entry action is to determine prior physical possession; since Sering was in actual p...continue reading