Extinguishment of agency

Extinguishment of agency "My father (deceased) is being represented by a certain Julian in a dispute involving ownership over a land that was filed in court. After my father's death, the opposing party is now claiming that he will question the representation of Julian as the latter was allegedly not authorized by any proper party in said case. As far as I know, Julian has been authorized by my father to represent him from the very beginning and in fact a Special Power of Attorney (SPA) was even presented to the other party. Is there a problem regarding the authority of Julian?JulydaDear Julyda,The representation of your father by Julian involving his claim over the land is called contract of agency. This is in consonance with Article 1868 of the New Civil Code of the Philippines, which states that ""by the contract of agency a person binds himself to render some service or to do something in representation or on behalf of another, with the consent or authority of the latter."" Correlative thereto is Section 1919 of same law which provides that ""agency is extinguished: x x x (3) by the death, civil interdiction, insanity or insolvency of the principal or of the agent x x x.""Thus, the death of your father extinguished the contract of agency with Julian. This finds support also in the decision of the court in Lopez, et al. vs. The Honorable Court of Appeals and Primex Corporation (GR 163959, Aug. 1, 2018), where the Supreme Court through Chief Justice Lucas Bersamin stated: ""By the contract of agency, a person binds himself to render some service or to do something in representation or on behalf of another with the consent or authority of the latter. For a contract of agency to exist, therefore, the following requisites must concur, namely: (1) there must be consent coming from persons or entities having the juridical capacity and capacity to act to enter into such contract (2) there must exist an object in the form of services to be undertaken by the agent in favor of the principal and (3) there must be a cause or consideration for the agency.""One of the modes of extinguishing a contract of agency is by the death of either the principal or the agent. In Rallos v. Felix Go Chan & Sons Realty Corporation, the Court declared that because death of the principal extinguished the agency, it should follow a fortiori that any act of the agent after the death of his principal should be held void ab initio unless the act fell under the exceptions established under Article 1930 and Article 1931 of the Civil Code. The exceptions should be strictly construed. In other words, the general rule is that the death of the principal or, by analogy, the agent extinguishes the contract of agency, unless any of the circumstances provided for under Article 1930 or Article 1931 obtains in which case, notwithstanding the death of either principal or agent, the contract of agency continues to exist."" Applying the above-quoted decision in your situation, the contract of agency between your father and Julian involving the former's claim over a land was extinguished when your father died. Julian's actions or representations after the death of your father are void, thus, the opposing party is correct in his statement that Julian is no longer authorized to represent your deceased father.Relatedly and considering that the question involved in the suit where your father is a party relates to property and property rights, then it is safe to say that the action survived the death of your father. Section 16, Rule 3 of the 1997 Rules of Civil Procedure will necessarily apply, thus: ""Section 16. Death of a party duty of counsel. - Whenever a party to a pending action dies, and the claim is not thereby extinguished, it shall be the duty of his counsel to inform the court within thirty (30) days after such death of the fact thereof, and to give the name and address of his legal representative or representatives. Failure of counsel to comply with this duty shall be a ground for disciplinary action.""The heirs of the deceased may be allowed to be substituted for the deceased, without requiring the appointment of an executor or administrator and the court may appoint a guardian ad litem for the minor heirs. ""The court shall forthwith order said legal representative or representatives to appear and be substituted within a period of thirty (30) days from notice xxx.""Based on the foregoing, you have to inform your father's counsel about the death of your father so that he can file a Notice of Death to the court where the case is pending. In such a process, he shall give to the court your names and addresses as your father's heirs or legal representatives who will act as his substitutes to the suit.If you and the other heirs wish Julian to continue with the agency, you just need to give him the proper authority or SPA to this effect.We hope that we were able to answer your queries. This advice is based solely on the facts you have narrated and our appreciation of the same. Our opinion may vary when other facts are changed or elaborated. Editor's note: Dear PAO is a daily column of the Public Attorney's Office. Questions for Chief Acosta may be sent to dearpao@manilatimes.net" - https://www.affordablecebu.com/