Title
Pleno vs. Court of Appeals
Case
G.R. No. 56505
Decision Date
May 9, 1988
A 1971 vehicular accident caused severe injuries to Maximo Pleno due to reckless driving by Florante de Luna. Pleno sued for damages; the Supreme Court ruled employer liability as primary and solidary, reinstating higher damages awarded by the trial court.
liability of employer
primary and solidary liability
subsidiary liability

Case Summary (G.R. No. 56505)

Factual Background: The Collision and the Hit-and-Run

On the afternoon of December 21, 1971, a snub-nosed Volkswagen kombi driven by Pleno and occupied by Pleno and a passenger, James Arthur Longley, was cruising toward Manila along the service road portion of the South Super Highway in Taguig. The kombi was allegedly struck suddenly and without warning on its left rear corner by a red cargo truck. Due to the impact, the kombi veered to the right and rammed the rear portion of a truck parked along the shoulder, identified in the record as driven by Ruben Rivera and positioned in front of the National Manpower Building. Rivera’s truck was then moved forward by the subsequent impact, and Rivera—standing in front of his parked truck while urinating—was bumped by his own truck.

A witness, Diego Orca, a gardener watering his plants in front of the National Manpower Building, testified to the incident’s sequence. The impact seriously damaged the right front portion of the kombi, causing Longley to be thrown out onto a ditch. Pleno was crushed in the driver’s seat because of the vehicle’s lack of protective front structure, and his legs were trapped in the wreckage. The red cargo truck stopped momentarily and then sped away. Rivera was brought to the hospital by a passing jeepney. Pleno was extricated after persons pushed the parked truck away and was brought to the Makati Medical Center.

The evidence showed that Pleno suffered extensive injuries affecting his head and legs and his eyesight, and that he remained hospitalized for almost five (5) months. He underwent a series of surgeries, and the orthopedic and eye specialists testified to fractures, head injury indicators, and double vision in his left eye, which affected his social and business life.

After several hours, the incident was reported to the Taguig Police Department by Manuel Pleno, Pleno’s son. The police formed a team to investigate the hit-and-run nature of the event. The initial suspect description pointed to a red delivery truck with identifying characteristics. The subsequent investigation led to the corporation’s truck and its driver.

Investigation Linking the Corporation’s Truck and Driver

The record traced the identification of the suspect vehicle to later police inquiries. Patrolman Maximo de Guzman testified that in January 1972, Atty. Tagumpay Eusebio, connected with Philippine Paper Products, Inc., approached him and asked why De Luna was stopped and investigated. De Guzman explained that De Luna’s truck matched the description of the hit-and-run vehicle involved on December 21, 1971.

Police investigators then went to the corporation’s premises at Sun Valley Subdivision along the South Super Highway in Paranaque, Rizal. They found a truck with plate details matching the described suspect, including a red coloration and physical damage consistent with the collision. Investigators observed a depressed or dented portion on the right front area of the truck, with measurements said to correspond to the ground distance of damage on the Volkswagen. They also observed scratched-off paint and blue-colored stains. The team brought in Dr. Diego Orca, the incident witness, who positively identified the corporation’s truck as the one involved. A photographer, Bernardo Beduya, took photographs marked as exhibits.

The investigators also reviewed the corporation’s logbook. Police testimony stated that the suspect vehicle left the company compound on December 21, 1971 at 12:00 p.m., about twenty-five (25) minutes before the collision time. Investigators thereafter continued to pursue the matter, and the trial record later reflected that De Luna’s involvement was formally addressed through a written statement.

Driver’s Admission and Divergent Claim of Fault

On January 12, 1972, the police team met Atty. Eusebio with two companions, later identified as Florante de Luna and an insurance adjuster. Eusebio allegedly asked about progress and indicated that De Luna had admitted involvement but that settlement was possible, leading to De Luna’s execution of a written statement. De Luna’s statement admitted that the delivery truck was involved but claimed the collision fault lay with Pleno. De Luna asserted that Pleno braked and veered the Volkswagen toward the truck, and that after the Volkswagen accelerated and went out of control, it hit a truck that De Luna claimed was already moving rather than parked.

Critically, the police testimony contained a description of an attempted inducement. Patrolman de Guzman narrated that during the period before De Luna’s statement was subscribed before the mayor, Atty. Eusebio allegedly offered something to prevent disclosure of the involvement to the victim’s family, with an assurance that the police would receive payment of expenses if the incident were not divulged. This testimony was used by the courts in assessing the credibility of the defendants’ narrative and the circumstances surrounding the investigation.

Injury Evidence Supporting the Trial Court’s Damages

The trial court’s factual findings, affirmed on appeal as to liability, relied on medical testimony and documentary evidence. The orthopedic surgeon described multiple fractures of both thigh bones and the left shin bone (tibia), multiple lacerations in the forehead and left thigh, and indicators of head injury. Pleno underwent several surgeries, including skeletal traction and operations on both thighs, followed by later surgeries for foreign-body reaction and infection related to metallic appliances inserted during earlier procedures. The surgeon testified to shortening of the left leg and the continuing difficulty of standing even with crutches or a cane, with persistent limping.

An eye specialist testified to double vision or horizontal deplopia of Pleno’s left eye, potentially caused by blunt instrument trauma to the forehead or head areas. The specialist described double vision effects when Pleno looked to the left, and the record indicated that prolonged reading resulted in headaches. The specialist also explained that surgery did not guarantee elimination of double vision.

Trial Court Liability and Initial Damages

After due trial, on August 30, 1977, the Court a quo rendered judgment sentencing the defendants jointly and severally to pay Pleno: (1) P48,244.08 actual damages; (2) temperate or moderate damages of P200,000.00; (3) moral damages of P200,000.00; (4) exemplary damages of P50,000.00; (5) attorney’s fees of P30,000.00; and (6) costs of suit.

In affirming the key liability findings, the appellate discussion emphasized the three-vehicle collision sequence and Pleno’s serious injuries. It rejected the driver’s account as inconsistent with the reconstruction and evidence, including measurements and telltale marks indicating the collision point on the kombi’s left rear corner. The courts found that the driver De Luna was negligent in overtaking and miscalculating distance, with the collision’s proximate cause traced to his recklessness. The driver’s flight from the scene without rendering aid and without reporting supported the hit-and-run characterization and bolstered the basis for exemplary damages.

As to the corporation, the appellate findings considered whether it exercised due diligence in the selection and supervision of its driver. The record recounted evidence of looseness in supervision, the police delay in learning of the incident, and circumstances suggesting that the corporation and its representative attempted to cover up the accident from the victim’s family.

Court of Appeals Modification of Damages and Employer’s Liability

On appeal, the Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court’s factual findings on negligence and the basis for awards of damages, including the awards for actual damages and exemplary damages. However, the appellate court modified the award by reducing by one-half: (a) temperate damages from P200,000.00 to P100,000.00; (b) moral damages from P200,000.00 to P100,000.00; and (c) attorney’s fees from P30,000.00 to P15,000.00. The appellate court also ruled that the employer’s liability was subsidiary, a ruling that became a subject of dispute.

Separate Petitions and Supreme Court Procedural History

Both parties assailed the appellate decision by filing two separate petitions. Philippine Paper Products, Inc. filed a petition docketed as G.R. No. 56511, seeking reversal of the appellate court’s liability findings and raised factual questions. Pleno filed the present petition docketed as G.R. No. 56505, challenging the reduction of damages and the appellate ruling that the employer’s liability was only subsidiary.

On May 20, 1981, the Supreme Court issued a resolution denying G.R. No. 56511, explaining that the questions raised were factual and lacked sufficient showing that the appellate factual findings were unsupported by substantial evidence. The Court gave due course to G.R. No. 56505 and, in the same resolution, indicated that with respect to the affirmed judgment ordering the payment of P48,244.08 actual damages, P100,000.00 temperate damages, P100,000.00 moral damages, P50,000.00 exemplary damages, P15,000.00 attorney’s fees, and costs, execution could issue immediately upon receipt of the resolution.

The resolution became final and executory on September 7, 1981, with an entry of judgment.

Issues Raised in the Supreme Court

The Supreme Court identified two issues: first, whether the employer’s liability in quasi-delict was subsidiary; and second, whether the Court of Appeals was correct in reducing the amounts of damages awarded to Pleno.

The Parties’ Contentions on the Employer’s Liability and Damages

Pleno asserted that the employer’s liability in quasi-delict was primary and solidary, not subsidiary, and relied on a long line of cases. The decision noted that the Court had previously ruled consistently on this doctrine.

With respect to damages, Pleno challenged the appellate reduction as without justification. He emp

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