INTERPLEADER - a special civil action filed by a person against whom two conflicting claims are made upon the

same subject matter and over

which he claims no interest whatever, or if he has an interest , it is one which, in whole or in part, is not disputed by the claimants; the action is
brought against the conflicting claimants to compel them to interplead and litigate their claims among themselves (Sec. 1, Rule 62, Rules of Court)
REQUISITES FOR AN INTERPLEADER: (Sec. 1, Rule 62, Rules of Court)
1. There must be two or more claimants with adverse or conflicting interests upon a subject matter;
2. The conflicting claims involve the same subject matter;
3. The conflicting claims are made against the same person (plaintiff);
4. The plaintiff has no claim upon the subject matter of the adverse claims of if he has an interest at all, such interest is not disrupted.
When an interpleader is proper: (It is proper when the requirements of Section 1 of Rule 62 has been complied with such as the existence of
conflicting claims made by the claimants upon the same subject matter.)
1. It usually originates from a situation where a person has property in his custody over which he himself asserts no interest, but several
persons claim a right to the property.
2. It may also arise when one, who has an obligation to perform an act, is confronted with conflicting claims asserting the right to be entitled
to the benefits of the performance of the obligation.
3. It may also result when two or more persons claim a right to collect from a debtor who admits his liability but is uncertain as to who among
several claimants is entitled to payment.
- The remedy of the debtor is to file an INTERPLEADER. He then deposits the amount owed to the court and prays that the
claimants litigate their dispute between or among themselves. In effect, the plaintiff, in filing the action, asks from the court
that he be dismissed from the suit and be relieved of any liability arising from the subject matter of the interpleader.
- Well-settled is the rule that TENDER OF PAYMENT must be accompanied by CONSIGNATION in order that the effects of
payment may be produced.
- Consignation is the act of depositing the thing due with the court or judicial authorities whenever the creditor cannot
accept or refuses to accept payment and it generally requires a prior tender of payment. (Limkako v. Teodoro, 74 Phil.
313). In instances where no debt is due and owing, consignation is not proper.
4. An action for interpleader is proper when the lessee does not know to whom payment of rentals should be made due to conflicting claims
on the property (or on the right to collect).
ILLUSTRATIONS:
1. A warehouseman who has custody of goods claimed to be owned by two or more persons
- The Warehouse Receipts Law (Act 2137) provides that where a warehouseman delivers the goods to one who is not in
fact entitled to possession, the warehouseman shall be liable for conversion (Sec. 10, Warehouse Receipts Law). A
warehouseman may also be sued for damages if he refuses to deliver the goods. Hence, Section 17 of the same law
authorizes him to require all known claimants to interplead to shield him from liability.
2. A lessee confronted with adverse claimants on the rentals due and he is in doubt as to who among them should be the rightful recipient
- Payment must be made “to the person in whose favor the obligation has been constituted, or his successor in interest, or
any person authorized to receive it” (Art. 1240, Civil Code of the Philippines). Payment to the wrong person is NOT A
VALID PAYMENT and DOES NOT EXTINGUISH the obligation. Hence, to protect the debtor from liability for making an
erroneous payment, he will have to file an action for interpleader as a step towards the extinguishment of his obligation.
3. An insurer may also file a complaint for interpleader when confronted by conflicting claims on the proceeds of an insurance policy.
COURT WITH JURISDICTION:
MTC RTC
Subject matter of the action is personal property, valued at not more Value of the personal property EXCEEDS P 2Million
than P 2Million
Subject matter is real property with an assessed value of not more The assessed value of the real property EXCEEDS P400,000.00
than P 400,000.00
Subject matter of the interpleader is one INCAPABLE of pecuniary
estimation (like the performance of an obligation)
How Commenced – by filing a complaint. The action is brought by the person against whom conflicting claims upon the same subject matter are
made (Secs. 1 and 2, Rule 62, Rules of Court)

INTERPLEADER INTERVENTION
A special civil action, independent and original not an original action but merely ancillary and depends upon the
existence of a pending action
Commenced by the filing of a complaint commenced by a motion for leave to intervene filed in a pending case
attaching thereto the pleading-in-intervention
Filed by a person who has no interest in the subject matter of the filed by a person who has a legal interest in any of the following:
action or if he has an interest, the same is not disputed by the a. The subject matter of the litigation;
claimants b. The success of either of the parties;
c. An interest against both; or
d. He may be adversely affected by the disposition or
distribution of property in the custody of the court or of an
officer thereof
The defendants are brought into the action because they are sued and If a complaint-in-intervention is filed, the defendants are already
impleaded as such in the complaint. parties to an existing suit, not because of the intervention, but because
of the original suit.

Who pays the docket fees – The person who files the complaint pays the docket and other lawful fees. However, these fees, as well as the costs
and litigation expenses, shall constitute a lien or charge upon the subject matter of the action, unless the court shall order otherwise (Section 7,
Rule 62, Rules of Court).
SUMMONS – shall be served upon the conflicting claimants, together with a copy of the complaint and the order (Section 3, Rule 62, Rules of
Court)
The ORDER that shall be served with the summons and a copy of the complaint – refers to the order requiring the conflicting claimants to interplead
with one another. This order shall be issued upon the filing of the complaint (Section 2, Rule 62, Rules of Court)
– The court may include in the order a direction that the subject matter of the action be paid or delivered to the
court (this shall be made if the interest of justice so requires). (Section 2, Rule 62, Rules of Court)
MOTION TO DISMISS – each claimant may file a motion to dismiss within the time for filing an answer (15 days from service of summons; Section
5 of Rule 62) on the ground of:
1. Impropriety of the interpleader action, or
2. Other appropriate grounds specified in Rule 16 (Sec. 4, Rule 62, Rules of Court)
GENERAL RULE: A motion to dismiss is a prohibited motion.
EXCEPTION: A motion to dismiss may be filed on the following grounds:
1. The court has no jurisdiction over the subject matter of the claim;
2. There is another action pending between the same parties for the same cause; and
 3. The cause of action is barred by a prior judgment or by the statute of limitations (Sec. 12[1a], Rule 15, Rules of Court, as amended by
A.M. No. 19-10-20-SC)
IMPROPRIETY OF THE INTERPLEADER ACTION:
1. Where the allegations in the complaint do not show conflicting claims between or among the persons required to interplead, the complaint
is subject to dismissal on the ground of impropriety of the interpleader. – The ground to be invoked in this situation is NOT a failure to
state a cause of action under Section 12, Rule 8, as amended because the meaning of a cause of action in ordinary civil actions does not
exactly apply to an interpleader.
2. The claims are not conflicting because they refer to different subject matters.
3. It appears from the allegations in the complaint that the plaintiff claims an interest in the subject matter that is disputed by the claimants.
Effect of Filing a Motion to Dismiss on the Period to Answer – the period to file an answer is interrupted or tolled by the filing of a motion to
dismiss
- If the motion is denied, the movant may file his answer within the remaining period to answer, but which shall not be less
than 5 days in any event. This period shall be counted from the notice of denial of the motion (Sec. 4, Rule 62, Rules of
Court)
Answer – each claimant shall file his answer setting forth his claim within 15 days from service of the summons upon him, serving a copy thereof
upon each of the other conflicting claimants (Section 5, Rule 62, Rules of Court)
Default
1. If any of the claimant fails to plead within the time fixed, the court may, on motion, declare him in default and thereafter render judgment
barring him from any claim in respect to the subject matter (Section 5, Rule 62, Rules of Court).
2. The court, under this provision, is not authorized to declare a claimant in default motu propio. Any declaration of default requires a prior
motion to that effect.
3. Section 1 of Rule 62 clearly recognizes that the complaint in interpleader is filed to compel the claimants to interplead and litigate their
several claims among themselves, and not for the plaintiff to enforce or protect a right, prevent or redress a wrong against him or to seek
an affirmative relief for himself.
Reply (Section 5 of Rule 62):
1. Each claimant shall file his answer within 15 days from the service of summons upon him. A copy of the answer shall be served by each
claimant upon each other.
2. The claimant served with the answer may file his reply to the same. The rule DOES NOT consider the filing of the reply mandatory.
- The 2019 Amendments to the 1997 Rules of Civil Procedure PROHIBITED the filing of a reply UNLESS an actionable
document is attached to the answer (Section 10, Rule 6, Rules of Court, as amended)
Actionable Document – is a written instrument or document on which an action or defense is founded. It may be pleaded in either of two ways:
1. by setting forth the substance of such document in the pleading and attaching the document thereto as an annex, or
2. by setting forth said document verbatim in the pleading.
The relevant rule on actionable documents is Section 7, Rule 8 of the Rules of Court which provides:
Section 7. Action or defense based on document. – Whenever an action or defense is based upon a written instrument or document, the
substance of such instrument or document shall be set forth in the pleading, and the original or a copy thereof shall be attached to the pleading
as an exhibit, which shall be deemed to be a part of the pleading, or said copy may with like effect be set forth in the pleading.xxx
Accordingly, under Sec 8 of Rule 8, to deny the genuineness and due execution of an actionable document:
1. there must be a specific denial in the responsive pleading of the adverse party;
2. the said pleading must be under oath; and
3. the adverse party must set forth what he claims to be the facts.
SEC. 8. How to contest genuineness of such documents. — When an action or defense is founded upon a written instrument, copied in or
attached to the corresponding pleading as provided in the preceding section, the genuineness and due execution of the instrument shall be
deemed admitted unless the adverse party, under oath, specifically denies them, and sets forth what he claims to be the facts; but this
provision does not apply when the adverse party does not appear to be a party to the instrument or when compliance with an order for an
inspection of the original instrument is refused.xxx
Other Pleadings – The parties to an interpleader action may file counterclaims, cross-claims, third-party complaints and responsive pleadings
thereto (Section 5 of Rule 62). Such pleadings may be filed in an interpleader because, as a rule, SPECIAL CIVIL ACTIONS are also governed by
the rules for ordinary civil actions, subject to specific rule for a particular special civil action (Section 3[a], Rule 1, Rules of Court)
Pre-trial – is also conducted in an interpleader action (Section 6, Rule 62, Rules of Court). Hence, Rule 18 of the Rules of Court shall also apply.
Determination and Adjudication shall be conducted by the court:
1. after the pleadings of the conflicting claimants have been filed; and
2. the pre-trial has been conducted (Section 6, Rule 62, Rules of Court).