Case Digest (G.R. No. 30741)
Facts:
Tomas Bernal and Fortunata Enverso v. J. V. House and Tacloban Electric & Ice Plant, Ltd., G.R. No. 30741, January 30, 1930, Supreme Court, Malcolm, J., writing for the Court (Street, Villamor, Ostrand, Johns and Villa-Real, JJ., concur; Johnson, J., dissents; Romualdez, J., filed a separate dissent).On the evening of April 10, 1925, during the Holy Friday procession in Tacloban, Leyte, Fortunata Enverso and her five‑year‑old daughter Purificacion Bernal walked along the principal street, Gran Capitan. The child ran a short distance ahead of her mother, was frightened by an oncoming automobile, ran, and fell into a street gutter in front of the offices of the Tacloban Electric & Ice Plant, Ltd. At that time hot water was flowing in the gutter from the plant. The child was found face down in the hot water; clothing was removed and she was taken to the provincial hospital, where Dr. Victoriano A. Benitez recorded "Burns, 3rd Degree, Whole Body" and the child died that night at 11:40 p.m.
The plaintiffs (the child's parents, Tomas Bernal and Fortunata Enverso) sued J. V. House and the Tacloban Electric & Ice Plant, Ltd. for P15,000 in damages, alleging negligence in permitting hot water to flow into the public street. At trial, the Court of First Instance of Leyte accepted the factual recital of the accident and the child's burns but dismissed the action on the ground of contributory negligence by the plaintiffs.
The plaintiffs appealed to the Supreme Court. The trial judge's factual findings (hot water in the gutter causing severe burns, prompt hospital treatment, physician's certification of cause of death) were accepted by the Supreme Court, but the dispositive legal conclusions — parti...(Subscriber-Only)
Issues:
- Did the contributory negligence of the child and her mother bar recovery for the death of the child?
- Which plaintiff is entitled to recover for the child's death — the mother, the natural father who never legally recognized the child, or both?
- Which defendant is civilly liable for the death — J. V. House personally or the Tacloban Electric & Ice Plant, Ltd.?
- In the absence of special proof of pecuniary loss, wha...(Subscriber-Only)
Ruling:
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Ratio:
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Doctrine:
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