Case Digest (G.R. No. L-21486)
Facts:
La Mallorca and Pampanga Bus Company, Inc. v. Valentin de Jesus, Manolo Tolentino and Court of Appeals, G.R. No. L-21486. May 14, 1966, the Supreme Court En Banc, Makalintal, J., writing for the Court.The petitioners are La Mallorca and Pampanga Bus Company, Inc. (commonly La Mallorca‑Pambusco); the respondents are Valentin de Jesus and Manolo Tolentino, plaintiffs below, and the Court of Appeals. The action below arose from the death of Lolita de Jesus, 20 years old, daughter of Valentin de Jesus and wife of Manolo Tolentino, who was a passenger on petitioners' bus.
On the morning of October 8, 1959, in a barrio in Marilao, Bulacan, the bus in which Lolita was riding suffered a sudden left‑front tire blowout; the driver lost control and the bus collided head‑on with a freight truck traveling in the opposite direction. The plaintiffs sued the bus company in Civil Case No. 2100 before the Court of First Instance of Bulacan.
The trial court rendered judgment for the plaintiffs: ordering petitioners to pay P2,132.50 as actual damages; P14,400.00 as compensatory damages; P10,000.00 to each plaintiff as moral damages; and P3,000.00 as counsel fees. The Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court's decision, finding that the blowout resulted from a mechanical defect — the inner tube being pressed between the inner circle of the wheel and a rim that had slipped out — and that the bus was being driven at considerable speed before the accident.
Petitioners sought relief in this Court by appeal via certiorari from the Court of Appeals' decision, assigning two errors: (1) that the appellate court erred in not treating the tire blowout as a caso fortuito (fortuit...(Pro-only)
Issues:
- Was the tire blowout a caso fortuito that absolves La Mallorca‑Pambusco of liability for the collision and resulting death of a passenger?
- Are moral damages recoverable for the death of a passenger caused by breach of contract of ...(Pro-only)
Ruling:
- (Pro-only)
Ratio:
- (Pro-only)
Doctrine:
- (Pro-only)