This case has been cited 8 times or more.
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2008-09-22 |
CHICO-NAZARIO, J. |
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| In breach of contract of air carriage, moral damages may be recovered where (1) the mishap results in the death of a passenger; or (2) where the carrier is guilty of fraud or bad faith; or (3) where the negligence of the carrier is so gross and reckless as to virtually amount to bad faith.[15] | |||||
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2008-04-22 |
REYES, R.T., J. |
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| With respect to attorney's fees, they may be awarded when defendant's act or omission has compelled plaintiff to litigate with third persons or to incur expenses to protect his interest.[71] The Court, in Construction Development Corporation of the Philippines v. Estrella,[72] citing Traders Royal Bank Employees Union-Independent v. National Labor Relations Commission,[73] elucidated thus:There are two commonly accepted concepts of attorney's fees, the so-called ordinary and extraordinary. In its ordinary concept, an attorney's fee is the reasonable compensation paid to a lawyer by his client for the legal services he has rendered to the latter. The basis of this compensation is the fact of his employment by and his agreement with the client. | |||||
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2007-07-31 |
PUNO, C.J. |
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| Second, it is improper for this Court to determine whether there was a compromise agreement entered into by the parties. This Court is not a trier of facts, nor will it disturb the trial court's findings of fact, such findings being, as a rule, binding and conclusive.[22] This doctrine admits of only a few exceptions, such as when the findings are grounded entirely on speculation, surmises or conjectures; when an interference made by the appellate court from its factual findings is manifestly mistaken, absurd or impossible; when there is grave abuse of discretion in the appreciation of facts; when the findings of the appellate court go beyond the issues of the case, run contrary to the admissions of the parties to the case or fail to notice certain relevant facts which, if properly considered, will justify a different conclusion; when there is a misappreciation of facts; when the findings of fact are conclusions without mention of the specific evidence on which they are based, are premised on the absence of evidence or are contradicted by evidence on record.[23] None of these exceptions are present in the case at bar. | |||||
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2006-07-28 |
PUNO, J. |
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| With respect to the amount of moral damages to be awarded, the well-entrenched principle is that the grant thereof depends upon the discretion of the court considering the circumstances of each case.[15] In the case at bar, it is undisputed that respondent's PCIBank Mastercard No. 5407-2610-0000-5864 was dishonored in a foreign country where the respondent was not expected to have family members or close friends nearby to lend him a helping hand. It was twice dishonored in public places. Worse, the card was first dishonored during a breakfast-cum-business meeting with respected medical colleagues based in that country. Respondent had absolutely no inkling then that there was a problem with his card. Moreover, he had no reason to think that something was amiss since he is a member in good standing for more than ten (10) years and had no previous bad experience with the card. However, since moral damages are patently not meant to enrich the complainant at the expense of the defendant and should only be commensurate with the actual loss or injury suffered,[16] we reduce the amount awarded by the Court of Appeals from P800,000.00 to P500,000.00. | |||||
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2005-08-30 |
CARPIO, J. |
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| Attorney's fees may be awarded when the defendant's act or omission has compelled the plaintiff to incur expenses to protect his interest.[24] The trial court ordered petitioners to pay 20% of the fair market value of the land they each possessed as attorney's fees. We modify the award of attorney's fees. The heirs of Napoleon shall pay attorney's fees of P 50,000. | |||||
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2003-12-08 |
AUSTRIA-MARTINEZ, J. |
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| The social and financial standing of Lucila cannot be considered in awarding moral damages. The factual circumstances prior to the accident show that no "rude and rough" reception, no "menacing attitude," no "supercilious manner," no "abusive language and highly scornful reference" was given her. The social and financial standing of a claimant of moral damages may be considered in awarding moral damages only if he or she was subjected to contemptuous conduct despite the offender's knowledge of his or her social and financial standing.[49] (Emphasis supplied) Nevertheless, we hold that private respondent Judy Amor is entitled to moral damages. In a number of cases, we have pronounced that air carriage is a business possessed with special qualities. In Singson vs. Court of Appeals,[50] we explained that:A contract of air carriage is a peculiar one. Imbued with public interest, common carriers are required by law to carry passengers safely as far as human care and foresight can provide, using the utmost diligence of a very cautious person, with due regard for all the circumstances. A contract to transport passengers is quite different in kind and degree from any other contractual relation. And this because its business is mainly with the traveling public. It invites people to avail of the comforts and advantages it offers. The contract of carriage, therefore, generates a relation attended with a public duty. Failure of the carrier to observe this high degree of care and extraordinary diligence renders it liable for any damage that may be sustained by its passengers.[51] As the lower courts have found, evidence positively show that petitioner has accommodated waitlisted and non-revenue passengers and had overbooked more than what is allowed by law, to the prejudice of private respondents who had confirmed tickets. Overbooking amounts to bad faith[52] and therefore petitioner is liable to pay moral damages to respondent Judy Amor. | |||||
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2003-12-08 |
AUSTRIA-MARTINEZ, J. |
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| The award of exemplary damages in favor of private respondent Judy Amor is warranted in this case.[56] Waitlisted and non-revenue passengers were accommodated while private respondent Judy Amor who had fully paid her fare and was a confirmed passenger was unduly deprived of enplaning. Petitioner was guilty of overbooking its flight to the prejudice of its confirmed passengers. This practice cannot be countenanced especially considering that the business of air carriage is imbued with public character. We have ruled that where in breaching the contract of carriage, the airline is shown to have acted in bad faith, as in this case,[57] the award of exemplary damages in addition to moral and actual damages is proper.[58] However, as in the matter of the moral damages awarded by the trial court, we consider the amount of P200,000.00 as exemplary damages to be far too excessive. The amount of P25,000.00 is just and proper. | |||||
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2003-10-07 |
PANGANIBAN, J. |
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| It should be stressed that PUVs, as common carriers, are engaged in a business affected with public interest.[14] Under Article 1756 of the Civil Code, in cases of death or injuries to passengers, common carriers are presumed to be at fault and are required to compensate the victims, unless they observed extraordinary diligence. To assure this compensation, PUVs are required to obtain insurance policies.[15] | |||||