ANITA MANGILA,

petitioner,
vs.
COURT OF APPEALS and LORETA GUINA,
respondents.

G.R. No. 125027.

August 12, 2002

Facts:

Petitioner Mangila hired the freight service of private respondent Guina for
the importation of seafoods to USA. Petitioner failed to pay the services rendered by Air
Swift International a business operating under the sole proprietorship of Guina. The latter
filed a case for collection of money but summons were unsuccessfully served thus a writ of
Preliminary Attachmentwas issued. Petitioner filed a motion to discharge without
submitting herself to the jurisdiction of the court. The CA upheld the validity of
the issuance of the writ attachment and sustained the filing of the case in Pasay as the
propervenue, despite stipulation in the contract that in case of complaints, cases should be
filed in Makati City. Pasay City is the office location of Air Swift.

Issue:

Whether or not the venue of the swift was properly laid when it was filed in Pasay City where
the sole proprietorship business of the respondent was located.

Held:

A mere stipulation on the venue of an action is not enough to preclude the parties from
bringing a case in other venues. The partiers must be able to show that the stipulation is
exclusive. In the present case there are no qualifying or restrictive words in
the invoice that would evince the intention of the parties that Makati is the only or
exclusive venue where the action would be instituted. Nevertheless, we hold that Pasay is not
the proper venue.

In this case it was established that petitioner resides in Pampanga while respondent resides
in Paraaque. The case was filed in Pasay where the business is located.

A sole proprietorship does not possess a juridical personality separate and distinct from the
personality of the owner of the enterprise The law does not vest a separate legal personality
on the sole proprietorship to empower it to file or defend an action in court. Thus, not being
vested with legal personality to file this case, the sole proprietorship is not the plaintiff but
Guina herself.