LEGAL PRINCIPLE: CIVIL PROCEDURE – Parties – Business Names – Capacity to Be Sued Eo Nomine – Individual Carrying on Business in Name Other Than Own
PRINCIPLE STATEMENT
Any person carrying on business within the jurisdiction in a name or style other than his own name may be sued in such name or style as if it were a firm's name; and, so far as the nature of the case will permit, all rules relating to proceedings against firms shall apply.
RATIO DECIDENDI (SOURCE)
Per Uwaifo, JSC, in Iyke Medical Merchandise v. Pfizer Inc & Anor (2001) NLC-291996(SC) at pp. 8–9; Paras D–A.
"Any person carrying on business within the jurisdiction in a name or style other than his own name may be sued in such name or style as if it were a firm's name; and, so far as the nature of the case will permit, all rules relating to proceedings against firms shall apply."
EXPLANATION / SCOPE
An individual trading under a business name other than their own may be sued in that business name as if it were a firm’s name. The rules for suing firms apply mutatis mutandis. This allows claimants to sue the business name without first ascertaining the owner’s personal name. The principle simplifies litigation against sole proprietorships. The judgment binds the individual carrying on the business. However, the individual remains personally liable. The business name is not a separate legal entity—it is a trading style. The provision facilitates service of process and identification. The individual may defend in the business name. The principle prevents hiding behind a business name to avoid legal process.
