Class Suit (Requisites) Flashcards
Based on Section 12, Rule 3 of the Rules of Court, the following requisites must be complied with before a class suit may prosper:
(A) The subject matter or controversy must be of common or general interest to many persons;
(B) The persons must be so numerous that it is impracticable to join them all as parties;
(C) The court must find the parties sufficiently numerous and representative to fully protect the interest of all the concerned;
(D) The representative parties must sue or defend for the benefit of all.
What does this phrase mean: [w]hen the subject matter of the controversy is one of “common or general interest”
Common or general interest in class suits pertains to the subject matter of the litigation or action. This subject matter can be any be anything – from things (real or personal), money, lands, chattels, and the like – in relation to the suit that is prosecuted.
NOTE:
(a) It does not refer to the delict or wrong committed by the defendant;
(b) It does not refer to the a common question of law that sustains the class suit;
(c) There can also be NO class suit where there is conflicting interest among the parties.
The following are not considered as class suit: (These are just examples; not an exclusive list.)
(A) In the absence of any showing of its interest on certain parcels of land, a non-stock corporation instituting an action on behalf of its members to recover such lands, which the latter allegedly own.
(B) An action where the parties seek to recover only a particular portion of land over which they have a right or interest.
(C) An action filed by an association to recover damages on behalf of its members, who allegedly sustained injury by reason of a libelous magazine article. (RATIONALE; There can be no common interest on the reputation of an individual.)
