Victory Liner, Inc. v. Rosalito Gammad, et al.

G.R. No. 159636, 25 November 2004

Facts:
Marie Grace Pagulayan-Gammad, respondent Rosalitos
wife, was on board a Victory Liner bus bound for Tugegarao from
Manila. The bus was running at a high speed and fell on a ravine
somewhere in Santa Fe, Nueva Vizcaya, which resulted in the death
of Marie Grace.
Respondents filed a complaint for damages arising from
culpa contractual against Victory Liner. Petitioner claimed that the
incident was purely accidental and that it has always exercised extraordinary diligence.
The trial court rendered a decision in favour of respondents, and ordered Victory Liner to pay the following:

1, Actual Damages

P122,000.00

2, Death Indemnity

P50,000.00

3, Exemplary and Moral

Damages

P400,000.00

4, Compensatory Damages

P1,500,000.00

5, Attorneys Fees

10% of the total amount

granted

6, Cost of the suit

On appeal, the Court of Appeals affirmed the decision but

modified the award of damages:

1, Actual damages

P88,270.00

2, Compensatory damages

P1,135,,536.10

3, Moral and exemplary

damages

P400,000.00

4, Attorney fees

10% of the actual, compensatory, moral, and

exemplary damages adjudged herein.

Cost of suit against petitioner is affirmed.

Issue:
Whether the award of damages was proper.
Ruling:
No, the award of damages was not proper. It should be
modified.
Article 1764 in relation to Article 2206 of the Civil Code,
holds the common carrier in breach of its contract of carriage that
results in the death of a passenger liable to pay the following: (1)
indemnity for death, (2) indemnity for loss of earning capacity, and
(3) moral damages.
In the present case, respondent heirs of the deceased are
entitled to indemnity for the death of Marie Grace which under
current jurisprudence is fixed at P50,000.00.

The award of compensatory damages for the loss of the

deceased's earning capacity should be deleted for lack of basis. As a
rule, documentary evidence should be presented to substantiate the
claim for damages for loss of earning capacity. By way of exception,
damages for loss of earning capacity may be awarded despite the
absence of documentary evidence when (1) the deceased is self-employed earning less than the minimum wage under current labor laws,
and judicial notice may be taken of the fact that in the deceased's line
of work no documentary evidence is available; or (2) the deceased is
employed as a daily wage worker earning less than the minimum
wage under current labor. In this case, the award of compensatory
damages for loss of earning capacity was on the basis of respondents
testimony that Marie Grace was 39 years old and works as a Section
Chief of the BIR. No other evidence was presented. This is erroneous
because the deceaseds earnings does not fall within the exceptions.
(Earning capacity should be substantiated by the required documentary proof.)
However, the fact of loss having been established, temperate damages in the amount of P500,000.00 should be awarded
to respondents. Under Article 2224 of the Civil Code, temperate or
moderate damages, which are more than nominal but less than compensatory damages, may be recovered when the court finds that
some pecuniary loss has been suffered but its amount can not, from
the nature of the case, be proved with certainty.
The award of moral damages cannot be lumped with exemplary damages because they are based on different rural foundations. In culpa contractual or breach of contract, moral damages
may be recovered when the defendant acted in bad faith or was guilty
of gross negligence (amounting to bad faith) or in wanton disregard
of contractual obligations and, as in this case, when the act of breach
of contract itself constitutes the tort that results in physical injuries.
By special rule in Article 1764 in relation to Article 2206 of the Civil
Code, moral damages may also be awarded in case the death of a
passenger results from a breach of carriage.
On the other hand, exemplary damages, which are
awarded by way of example or correction for the public good may be
recovered in contractual obligations if the defendant acted in wanton,
fraudulent, reckless, oppressive, or malevolent manner.
P100,000.00 as moral damages is awarded to compensate
for the death of Marie Grace resulting from Victory Liners breach of
contract of carriage. P100,000.00 as exemplary damages is also proper for Victory Liners failure to prove that it exercised extraordinary
diligence, it is presumed that it acted recklessly.
Actual damages damages are only the substantiated and
proven expenses or those that appear to have been genuinely incurred in connection with the death, wake or burial of the victim. In
this case, P78,160.00 is proper, which was the amount supported by
official receipts.
Under Article 2208 of the Civil Code, attorneys fees may
also be recovered where exemplary damages are awarded. The 10%
of the total amount adjudged is reasonable.
In Eastern Shipping Lines v. CA, it was held that when an
obligation, regardless of its source, i.e., law, contracts, quasi-contracts, delicts or quasi- delicts is breached, the contravenor can be
held liable for payment of interest in the concept of actual and compensatory damages. In this case, petitioner should be held liable for
payment of interest as damages for breach of contract of
carriage. The interest due shall be computed upon finality of the
SCs decision at the rate 12% per annum until satisfaction.