Short answer. No. A suit between members of the same family does not prosper unless the verified complaint shows that earnest efforts toward a compromise were made and failed. If it is shown that no such efforts were in fact made, the case must be dismissed.
What the law says
No suit between members of the same family shall prosper unless it should appear from the verified complaint or petition that earnest efforts toward a compromise have been made, but that the same have failed. If it is shown that no such efforts were in fact made, the same case must be dismissed.
Family Code, Article 151 — Earnest Efforts to Compromise Before an Intra-Family Suit. Read the full provision →
Brothers are within the circle
The article applies to suits between members of the same family, and family relations for this purpose include brothers and sisters, whether of the full or the half blood, along with spouses, parents and children, and ascendants and descendants. A dispute between siblings over land inherited from their parents is therefore squarely within it. Notice the boundary, though: the rule is keyed to suits between family members in that sense. Where a person outside that circle is properly a party to the case, the article's own terms are not satisfied.
It must appear in the complaint
The requirement is one of pleading before it is one of proof. It must appear from the verified complaint or petition that efforts were made and failed, so this is an allegation your complaint has to carry on its face, under oath, from the day it is filed. A complaint silent on the point is defective as filed. And because the complaint is verified, what you say about the attempts you made is sworn — a reason to describe them accurately rather than in the strongest available terms.
Earnest, and unsuccessful
Both halves are needed. The efforts must be earnest, which means a genuine attempt at compromise rather than a letter sent to satisfy the article, and they must have failed — a negotiation still alive is not a foundation for suit. The sanction is stated in unusually flat language: if it is shown that no such efforts were in fact made, the case must be dismissed. A plaintiff who has spent months on a partition complaint can lose it on this point without the merits ever being examined.
The exception, and what to keep
The last sentence carves out cases which may not be the subject of compromise under the Civil Code — matters the law does not allow parties to bargain over at all. A property dispute between siblings is not usually among them, so assume the rule applies to you. Before filing, make and record a real attempt: a written proposal to your brother, a meeting with relatives present, a letter through counsel — anything that shows what was offered, when, and what came of it. That record is what the allegation in your complaint will rest on.
Cases citing this provision
These Supreme Court decisions cite the provision above. We list them so you can read them yourself; the summaries of what each decided are not ours to give.
- Jose Z. Moreno vs. Rene M. Kahn, et al, G.R. No. 217744, July 30, 2018 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- April Martinez, et al. vs. Rodolfo G. Martinez, G.R. No. 162084, June 28, 2005 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- Hiyas Savings and Loan Bank, Inc vs. Hon. Edmundo T. Acuña, et al, G.R. No. 154132, August 31, 2006 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- Gaw Chin Ty, Vicente Gaw Chua, Robert Gaw Chua, Manuel Gaw Chua, Alejandro Gaw, G.R. No. 212598, September 29, 2021 — read the decision on LawPhil →