CIVIL PROCEDURE: REAL-PARTY-IN-INTEREST

                   A real party in interest is the party who stands to be benefited or injured by the judgment in the suit, or the party entitled to the avails of the suit(Republic v. Agunoy, Sr., G.R. No. 155394, February 17, 2005, 451 SCRA 735, 746).

                 “A real party in interest is the party who stands to be benefited or injured by the judgment in the suit, or the party entitled to the avails of the suit. Unless otherwise authorized by law or these Rules, every action must be prosecuted or defended in the name of the real party in interest” (Section 2, Rule 3, Rules of Court).

                  The afore-quoted provision has two requirements: 1) to institute an action, the plaintiff must be the real party in interest; and 2) the action must be prosecuted in the name of the real party in interest. Necessarily, the purposesof the provision are 1) to prevent the prosecution of actions by persons without any right, title or interest in the case; 2) to require that the actual party entitled to legal relief be the one to prosecute the action; 3) to avoid a multiplicity of suits; and 4) to discourage litigation and keep it within certain bounds, pursuant to sound public policy.

                  Interest within the meaning of the Rules means material interest or an interest in issue to be affected by the decree or judgment of the case, as distinguished from mere curiosity about the question involved. One having no material interest to protect cannot invoke the jurisdiction of the court as the plaintiff in an action. When the plaintiff is not the real party in interest, the case is dismissible on the ground of lack of cause of action (ORMOC SUGARCANE PLANTERS’ ASSO., INC. vs. COURT OF APPEALS, G.R. No. 156660, August 24, 2009, First Division, Leonardo-De Castro, J.)      The interest of the party must also be personal and not one based on a desire to vindicate the constitutional right of some third and unrelated party (Cañete v. Genuino Ice Company, Inc., supra; VSC Commercial Enterprises, Inc. v. Court of Appeals, supra). 

                   Real interest, on the other hand, means a present substantial interest, as distinguished from a mere expectancy or a future, contingent, subordinate, or consequential interest (Celestial Nickel Mining Exploration Corporation v. Macroasia Corporation, G.R. Nos. 169080, 172936, 176226 and 176319, December 19, 2007, 541 SCRA 166, 203).

                   Consequently, in proceedings to set aside an execution sale, the real party in interest is the person who has an interest either in the property sold or the proceeds thereof. Conversely, one who is not interested or is not injured by the execution sale cannot question its validity (De Leon v. CA, 343 Phil. 254, 265 (1997) (PANTRANCO EMPLOYEES ASSOCIATION [PEA-PTGWO] vs. NLRC, G.R. No. 170689, March 17, 2009, Third Division, Nachura, J.).