Dra. Abdulia Rodriguez, et al. vs Court of Appeals, et al. G.R. No.

121964, June 17, 1997 Facts: A fire broke out which caused the destruction of two apartment buildings owned by the appellants, and partially destroying a commercial building. The appellants alleged that because of the gross negligence and lack of due care of the workers of the defendants, the bunkhouse of the workers caught fire that spread rapidly and burnt the adjacent buildings. Appellants based their claim on a fire investigation report which stated that "the fire started at the generator and extended to the bunkhouse and spread among the combustible materials within the construction site." Issue: WON the appellants can invoke the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur? Ruling: No. The trial court concluded that the fire could not have started at the generator after all the defendant's witnesses testified that the generator did not caught fire and a picture was presented showing that the bunkhouse was intact while the fire was raging. The trial court declared that "the fire was not caused by an instrumentality within the exclusive control of the defendants," which is one of the requisites for the application of res ipsa loquitur in the law of negligence.