Can a civil action be maintained only against a legal person?

It is established that "A civil action can be maintained only against a legal person, i.e., a natural person or an artificial or quasi-artificial person, a nonentity is incapable of suing or being sued. Where a suit is brought against an entity which is legally nonexistent, the proceeding is void ab initio and its invalidity can be called to the attention of the court at any stage of the proceeding." (Oliver v. Swiss Club Tell (1963) 222 Cal.App.2d 528, 537, citations omitted.) The commonsense rationale of this rule is that courts sit to settle disputes between existing parties, and when a plaintiff or

Page 3