G.R. No. L-9393; August 20, 1915

FACTS:
The plaintiffs, Federico Lopez and others, doing business under the name “Lopez Hermanos,” filed an action in the Court of First Instance of Samar to recover from the defendants a boat (lanchon) valued at P1,000 or its equivalent, plus damages. The defendant Yu Sefao initially filed a demurrer, which was overruled. He later sought to amend his defense to argue that the plaintiffs lacked legal capacity to sue because “Lopez Hermanos” was not a legally organized society under the Commercial Code. The other defendant, Behn, Meyer & Co., was absolved from liability. After trial, the lower court ruled that the plaintiffs had legal capacity to sue and rendered judgment in their favor against Yu Sefao for P990. Yu Sefao appealed, contesting only the lower court’s finding on the plaintiffs’ legal capacity to sue.

ISSUE:
Whether the plaintiffs, who conducted business under the unincorporated name “Lopez Hermanos,” had the legal capacity to sue in their individual names for a cause of action arising from that business.

RULING:
Yes. The Supreme Court affirmed the lower court’s decision. The Court held that while an unincorporated mercantile association like “Lopez Hermanos” may not sue under its collective name, the individual members constituting the association have the legal capacity to sue in their own names. In this case, the complaint was filed not in the name of “Lopez Hermanos” but in the individual names of its members. This procedure is permissible and is not in conflict with prior jurisprudence (citing Prautch vs. Jones and Strachan & MacMurray vs. Emaldi). Since the appellant raised no other issue, the judgment was affirmed with costs.