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By Bolaji David Ogungbemi
My dear reader before you can sue, you must have a legal capacity to sue and be sued. Parties must be human being (natural), or company, organization, and registered business these are artificial persons – they must be juristic persons in order to be capable of suing and being sued.
My dear reader before you can sue, you must have a legal capacity to sue and be sued. Parties must be human being (natural), or company, organization, and registered business these are artificial persons – they must be juristic persons in order to be capable of suing and being sued.
You must
known that a suit against a wrong and non-juristic person is an incurable
misnomer. Such misnomer that will vitiate proceedings must be one that raises
reasonable doubt as to the identity of the defendant.
Classes of
Legal Persons are Partners – any
two or more persons claiming or alleged to be liable as partners may sue
or be sued in the name of the firm in
which they were partners when the cause
of action arose. Firms may now sue or be sued in their name despite the fact
that they are unincorporated; Infants
– persons who have not attained the age of majority – presumably 18 years.
Infants
cannot sue or be sued. Infants may sue by their next friend or guardian. May
enter appearance or defend through his guardian ad litem; Lunatics and Persons of Unsound Mind –
Lack capacity to sue or be sued. May sue or defend through their committee in
lunacy or next friend; Trustees,
Executors and Administrators – may sue on behalf of the estate in a
representative capacity; Incorporated
Bodies, Unincorporated Bodies, Statutory Bodies
Where more
persons than one have the same interest in one suit, one or more of them may,
with the approval of the court, be authorized by the other persons interested
to sue or to defend the suit for the benefit of or on behalf of all parties so
interested. It is desirable that leave of court is sought to sue or defend a
suit in a representative capacity. However, failure to obtain such leave does
not vitiate the action.
Challenge to the representative capacity is done by way
of a preliminary objection and timeously too.
In this article: