Practice question
A person litigates in an individual capacity in the first action. In a second case the same name appears in a genuinely distinct representative capacity involving a different legal right. Counsel says literal identity of names alone establishes identity in the same capacity under §47(b). Which is correct?
- Matching names make every legal capacity identical.
- The court must examine the rights, capacities and any legally sufficient identity or privity; names alone do not establish the required identity.
- Representative rights never exist.
- Every judgment automatically binds every estate associated with a party.
- A party can defeat preclusion merely by pretending to change labels even if the capacity is actually identical.
Legal references
- https://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/2019-rules-of-civil-procedure.pdf — Supreme Court official2019 Rules, Rule39§§47–48 and Rules57–61.
- https://lawphil.net/judjuris/juri2025/aug2025/gr_243317_2025.html — Aguila v Perfect Dimension, GR243317, August4 2025, main decision.
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