Case Digest (G.R. No. 161803)
Facts:
Dy Teban Trading, Inc. v. Jose Ching and/or Liberty Forest, Inc. and Cresilito M. Limbaga, G.R. No. 161803, February 04, 2008, the Supreme Court Third Division, Reyes, R.T., J., writing for the Court. Petitioner is Dy Teban Trading, Inc. (owner of the damaged Nissan van); respondents are Liberty Forest, Inc. (owner of the prime mover with trailer) and its driver Cresilito M. Limbaga; Jose Ching was impleaded but later absolved by the trial court.On July 4, 1995 at about 4:45 a.m., petitioner’s driver Rogelio Ortiz, with helper Romeo Catamora, was driving a Nissan van along the National Highway in Barangay Sumilihon, Butuan City. A Joana Paula passenger bus was approaching on the opposite lane. In between them a prime mover with trailer owned by Liberty Forest, Inc. and driven by Limbaga was parked askew, occupying a substantial portion of the bus’s lane; the trailer carried a D-8 bulldozer. The night before a tire blowout had occurred; Limbaga placed banana trunks with leaves at the front and rear and later claimed to have placed kerosene‑filled lighted tin cans as makeshift warning devices. The prime mover’s left wheels remained on the cemented highway while the right wheels were on the gravel shoulder.
As the bus tried to avoid the parked prime mover it sideswiped the trailer and was thrown into the opposite lane; the Nissan van swerved and struck the front of the stationary prime mover. Ortiz and Catamora suffered minor injuries; the van was rendered inoperable. A police traffic incident investigation report was prepared by SPO4 Teofilo Pame. Petitioner filed a complaint for damages on October 31, 1995 against Liberty Forest, Limbaga and Jose Ching; the passenger bus was not made a party.
The Regional Trial Court (RTC), Branch 2, Butuan City, rendered judgment on August 7, 2001 in favor of petitioner, holding Liberty Forest and Limbaga jointly and solidarily liable for damages (actual/compensatory, attorneys’ fees, litigation expenses) and absolving Jose Ching. The RTC found the proximate cause to be negligent, skewed parking and absence of an adequate early warning device. Private respondents appealed to the Court of Appeals (CA).
On August 28, 2003 the CA partly reversed and modified the RTC, absolving the defendants-appellants/appellees of any liability and holding that the proximate cause was the failure of the Nissan van driver to yield the right of way to the bus; the CA also accepted respondent’s claim that kerosene lighted tin cans could substitute as an early warning device (relying on Baliwag Transit, Inc. v. Court of ...(Subscriber-Only)
Issues:
- Did the Court of Appeals err in finding, without convincing evidence, that early warning devices (lighted tin cans) had been placed to warn approaching motorists of the parked prime mover and trailer?
- Were respondents negligent and liable for damages because the skewed parking and absence of proper early warning devices were the proxim...(Subscriber-Only)
Ruling:
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Ratio:
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Doctrine:
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