Parts of a pleading
The following are parts of a pleading as required by the Rules of Court (Rules on Civil Procedure). These requirements have suppletory application to criminal actions and special proceedings.
CAPTION
The Caption contains the following:
[1] Name of the court
[2] Title of the action
[3] Docket number, if assigned (Rule 7, Sec. 1)
THE BODY SETS FORTH:
[1] Designation
[2] Allegations of the party’s claims and defenses
[3] Relief prayed for (may add a general prayer for such further or other relief as may be deemed just and equitable)
[4] Date of the pleading (Rule 7, Sec. 2)
SIGNATURE AND ADDRESS
Rule 7 Sec. 3. Signature and address.
Every pleading must be signed by the party or counsel representing him, stating in either case his address which should not be a post office box.
WHAT DOES THE SIGNATURE OF COUNSEL CONSTITUTE?
The signature of counsel constitutes a certificate by him that:
[1] He has read the pleading;
[2] To the best of his knowledge, information, and belief there is good ground to support it; and
[3] It is not interposed for delay.
Remember that an unsigned pleading produces no legal effect. However, the court may, in its discretion, allow such deficiency to be remedied if it shall appear that the same was due to mere inadvertence and not intended for delay.
Counsel who (a) deliberately files an unsigned pleading, or (b) signs a pleading in violation of this Rule, or (c) alleges scandalous or indecent matter therein, or (d) fails to promptly report to the court a change of his address, shall be subject to appropriate disciplinary action. VERIFICATION AND CERTIFICATION AGAINST FORUM SHOPPING
What are the requirements of a corporation executing the verification/certification of non-forum shopping?
How is verification made?
It is verified by an affidavit. This affidavit declares that the:
[1] Affiant has read the pleading; and
[2] Allegations therein are true and correct of his personal knowledge or based on the authentic records (Rule 7, Sec. 4)
A pleading required to be verified which contains a verification based on information and belief or upon knowledge, information and belief, or lacks a proper verification shall be treated as an unsigned pleading. (Rule 7, Sec. 4).
What is the significance of verification?
The Supreme Court has held in hose of jurisprudence that it is intended to secure an assurance that the allegations in a pleading are true and correct and not the product of the imagination or a matter of speculation, and that the pleading is filed in good faith. The absence of a proper verification is cause to treat the pleading as unsigned and dismissible. (Chua vs. Torres, August 30, 2005)
Is verification a jurisdictional requirement?
The answer is no. Said the Supreme Court, the requirement regarding verification of a pleading is a formal, not jurisdictional. Such requirement is simply a condition affecting the form of a pleading, noncompliance with which does not necessarily render the pleading fatally defective. (Uy vs. Land Bank of the Phils., 2000)
The absence of the signature of the person misjoined as a party-plaintiff in either the verification page or certification against forum-shopping is not a ground for the dismissal of the action.
What is the effect of the signature of counsel?
The signature of counsel constitutes a certificate by him that he has read the pleading; that to the best of his knowledge, information, and belief there is good ground to support it; and that it is not interposed for delay. (par. 2, Rule,7 Sec. 3)
