G.R. No. 32598 - Gonzalez vs. Turla

The accident occurred on June 9, 1955, in Barrio Halang, Municipality of Lumban, Province of Laguna.
Two vehicles were involved:

A truck driven by Nicasio Mudales, operating under the Laguna-Tayabas Bus Company (the carrier).
A six-by-six truck driven by Aser Lagunda and owned by Prospero Sabido.

Agripino Custodio, a passenger of the Laguna-Tayabas (LTB) bus, was riding improperly by hanging on the left side of the vehicle.

As the two vehicles were negotiating a sharp curve on a bumpy, descending road while traveling in opposite directions, the bus was fully loaded with passengers.
The six-by-six truck, carrying only the owner, the driver, and three helpers (with no cargo or additional passengers), was reportedly climbing up the slope at a high rate of speed.
Testimonies revealed that the LTB bus was positioned improperly in the middle of the road during the curve, which contributed to the collision scenario.
As the two vehicles neared each other, the truck driven by Aser Lagunda did not maintain a prudent lateral position; instead of keeping close to the right side of the road, it advanced along its middle portion.
This imprudence resulted in the truck sideswiping Agripino Custodio, who was hanging on the left side of the bus, causing injuries that led subsequently to his death.

Evidence and testimony from Belen Makabuhay Custodio, the widow of Agripino Custodio, confirmed that the deceased was riding on the left side, thereby underscoring the negligence of the carrier for permitting such unsafe boarding or riding.
Additional testimony from other LTB bus passengers (including Sofia Mesina) and driver Lagunda himself established:

The truck was running at a considerable speed, even as it approached within 5 to 7 meters of the bus.
Aser Lagunda admitted noticing the presence of passengers riding on the bus's running board well before the vehicles met at the curve.
A clear opportunity existed for Lagunda to swerve to the right, using the shallow canal on the side of the road, to avoid the accident.

The trial court found that the negligence of both drivers contributed to the fatality.

The carrier (and its driver, Mudales) was found negligent for allowing Agripino Custodio to ride on the unsafe part of the bus, thereby violating regulatory provisions such as Section 42 of Act No. 3992.
Petitioners (Prospero Sabido and Aser Lagunda) were also found negligent for operating their truck at excessive speed and failing to keep to the proper side of the road, which ultimately led to their vehicle being in a position to inflict the fatal injury.

The negligence of both parties was determined to be concurrent and contributory, with the petitioners’ act being the last clear opportunity to prevent the incident.

The death of Agripino Custodio was exclusively due to the negligence of the carrier and its driver.
They were not negligent and, therefore, could not be held liable.
They should not be held solidarily liable with the carrier whose liability arose from breach of contract (whereas theirs stemmed from a quasi-delict).

The lower court, however, found that the negligence of the petitioners was an independent proximate cause of the accident and thus imposed joint and several liability on all involved.

Whether the negligence of the petitioners (Prospero Sabido and Aser Lagunda) contributed concurrently as a proximate cause to the fatal injury of Agripino Custodio.
Whether the evidence sufficiently established that both the carrier and the petitioners were negligent, despite the carrier’s liability arising from a breach of contract and the petitioners’ from a quasi-delict.
Whether the findings regarding the speed and position of the petitioners’ truck, as well as their failure to take remedial action (such as swerving), could be disturbed on certiorari.
Whether the doctrine of joint and several liability applies when multiple negligent acts, independent in nature, combine to cause a single injury.