SPLITTING A SINGLE CAUSE OF ACTION

         Splitting a single cause of action is the act of dividing a single or indivisible cause of action into several parts or claims and instituting two or more actions upon them.( Perez v. Court of Appeals, G.R. No. No. 157616, July 22, 2005, 464 SCRA 89; citing Nabus v. Court of Appeals, G.R. No. 91670, February 7, 1991, 193 SCRA 732.) A single cause of action or entire claim or demand cannot be split up or divided in order to be made the subject of two or more different actions.( Tuttle v. Everhot Heater Co., Inc., 249 N.W. 467 (1933). Thus, Section 4, Rule 2 of the Rules of Court expressly prohibits splitting of a single cause of action, viz:

Section 4. Splitting a single cause of action; effect of. — If two or more suits are instituted on the basis of the same cause of action, the filing of one or a judgment upon the merits in any one is available as a ground for the dismissal of the others. (4a) Catalina B. Chu et al. vs. Sps. Fernando c. Cunanan & Trinidad N. Cunanan, G.R. No.  156185, September 12, 2011, BERSAMIN, J.:)