791 Phil. 409
BERSAMIN, J.:
WHEREFORE, judgment is hereby rendered in favor of plaintiff Napoleon Sesante and against defendant Sulpicio Lines, Inc., ordering said defendant to pay plaintiff:The RTC observed that the petitioner, being negligent, was liable to Sesante pursuant to Articles 1739 and 1759 of the Civil Code; that the petitioner had not established its due diligence in the selection and supervision of the vessel crew; that the ship officers had failed to inspect the stowage of cargoes despite being aware of the storm signal; that the officers and crew of the vessel had not immediately sent a distress signal to the Philippine Coast Guard; that the ship captain had not called for then "abandon ship" protocol; and that based on the report of the Board of Marine Inquiry (BMI), the erroneous maneuvering of the vessel by the captain during the extreme weather condition had been the immediate and proximate cause of the sinking.SO ORDERED.[10]
- Temperate damages in the amount of P400,000.00;
- Moral damages in the amount of One Million Pesos (P1,000,000.00);
- Costs of suit.
In other words, to be resolved are the following, namely: (1) Is the complaint for breach of contract and damages a personal action that does not survive the death of the plaintiff?; (2) Is the petitioner liable for damages under Article 1759 of the Civil Code?; and (3) Is there sufficient basis for awarding moral and temperate damages?I
THE ASSAILED DECISION ERRED IN SUSTAINING THE AWARD OF MORAL DAMAGES, AS THE INSTANT CASE IS FOR ALLEGED PERSONAL INJURIES PREDICATED ON BREACH OF CONTRACT OF CARRIAGE, AND THERE BEING NO PROOF OF BAD FAITH ON THE PART OF SULPICIOII
THE ASSAILED DECISION ERRED IN SUSTAINING THE AMOUNT OF MORAL DAMAGES AWARDED, THE SAME BEING UNREASONABLE, EXCESSIVE AND UNCONSCIONABLE, AND TRANSLATES TO UNJUST ENRICHMENT AGAINST SULPICIOIII
THE ASSAILED DECISION ERRED IN SUSTAINING THE AWARD OF TEMPERATE DAMAGES AS THE SAME CANNOT SUBSTITUTE FOR A FAILED CLAIM FOR ACTUAL DAMAGES, THERE BEING NO COMPETENT PROOF TO WARRANT SAID AWARDIV
THE AWARD OF TEMPERATE DAMAGES IS UNTENABLE AS THE REQUISITE NOTICE UNDER THE LAW WAS NOT GIVEN TO SULPICIO IN ORDER TO HOLD IT LIABLE FOR THE ALLEGED LOSS OF SESANTE'S PERSONAL BELONGINGSV
THE ASSAILED DECISION ERRED IN SUBSTITUTING THE HEIRS OF RESPONDENT SESANTE IN THE INSTANT CASE, THE SAME BEING A PERSONAL ACTION WHICH DOES NOT SURVIVEVI
THE ASSAILED DECISION ERRED IN APPLYING ARTICLE 1759 OF THE NEW CIVIL CODE AGAINST SULPICIO SANS A CLEAR-CUT FINDING OF SULPICIO'S BAD FAITH IN THE INCIDENT[16]
Section 16. Death of party; duty of counsel. - Whenever a party to a pending action dies, and the claim is not thereby extinguished, it shall be the duty of his counsel to inform the court within thirty (30) days after such death of the fact thereof, and to give the name and address of his legal representative or representatives. Failure of counsel to comply with his duty shall be a ground for disciplinary action.Substitution by the heirs is not a matter of jurisdiction, but a requirement of due process.[17] It protects the right of due process belonging to any party, that in the event of death the deceased litigant continues to be protected and properly represented in the suit through the duly appointed legal representative of his estate.[18]
The heirs of the deceased may be allowed to be substituted for the deceased, without requiring the appointment of an executor or administrator and the court may appoint a guardian ad litem for the minor heirs.
x x x x
Article 1759. Common carriers are liable for the death or injuries to passengers through the negligence or willful acts of the former's employees, although such employees may have acted beyond the scope of their authority or in violation of the orders of the common carriers.The liability of common carriers under Article 1759 is demanded by the duty of extraordinary diligence required of common carriers in safely carrying their passengers.[20]
This liability of the common carriers does not cease upon proof that they exercised all the diligence of a good father of a family in the selection and supervision of their employees.
Article 1756. In case of death of or injuries to passengers, common carriers are presumed to have been at fault or to have acted negligently, unless they prove that they observed extraordinary diligence as prescribed in Articles 1733 and 1755.Clearly, the trial court is not required to make an express finding of the common carrier's fault or negligence.[21] Even the mere proof of injury relieves the passengers from establishing the fault or negligence of the carrier or its employees.[22] The presumption of negligence applies so long as there is evidence showing that: (a) a contract exists between the passenger and the common carrier; and (b) the injury or death took place during the existence of such contract.[23] In such event, the burden shifts to the common carrier to prove its observance of extraordinary diligence, and that an unforeseen event or force majeure had caused the injury.[24]
In order to be considered a fortuitous event, however, (1) the cause of the unforeseen and unexpected occurrence, or the failure of the debtor to comply with his obligation, must be independent of human will; (2) it must be impossible to foresee the event which constitute the caso fortuito, or if it can be foreseen it must be impossible to avoid; (3) the occurrence must be such as to render it impossible for the debtor to fulfill his obligation in any manner; and (4) the obligor must be free from any participation in the aggravation of the injury resulting to the creditor.The petitioner has attributed the sinking of the vessel to the storm notwithstanding its position on the seaworthiness of M/V Princess of the Orient. Yet, the findings of the BMI directly contradicted the petitioner's attribution, as follows:[T]he principle embodied in the act of God doctrine strictly requires that the act must be occasioned solely by the violence of nature. Human intervention is to be excluded from creating or entering into the cause of the mischief. When the effect is found to be in part the result of the participation of man, whether due to his active intervention or neglect or failure to act, the whole occurrence is then humanized and removed from the rules applicable to the acts of God.[29] (bold underscoring supplied for emphasis)
7. The Immediate and the Proximate Cause of the SinkingEven assuming the seaworthiness of the MA/ Princess of the Orient, the petitioner could not escape liability considering that, as borne out by the aforequoted findings of the BMI, the immediate and proximate cause of the sinking of the vessel had been the gross negligence of its captain in maneuvering the vessel.
The Captain's erroneous maneuvers of the M/V Princess of the Orient minutes before she sunk [sic] had caused the accident. It should be noted that during the first two hours when the ship left North Harbor, she was navigating smoothly towards Limbones Point. During the same period, the ship was only subjected to the normal weather stress prevailing at the time. She was then inside Manila Bar. The waves were observed to be relatively small to endanger the safety of the ship. It was only when the MV Princess of the Orient had cleared Limbones Pt. while navigating towards the direction of the Fortune Island when this agonizing misfortune struck the ship.
Initially, a list of three degrees was observed. The listing of the ship to her portside had continuously increased. It was at this point that the captain had misjudged the situation. While the ship continuously listed to her portside and was battered by big waves, strong southwesterly winds, prudent judgement [sic] would dictate that the Captain should have considerably reduced the ship's speed. He could have immediately ordered the Chief Engineer to slacken down the speed. Meanwhile, the winds and waves continuously hit the ship on her starboard side. The waves were at least seven to eight meters in height and the wind velocity was a[t] 25 knots. The MV Princess of the Orient being a close-type ship (seven decks, wide and high superstructure) was vulnerable and exposed to the howling winds and ravaging seas. Because of the excessive movement, the solid and liquid cargo below the decks must have shifted its weight to port, which could have contributed to the tilted position of the ship.
Minutes later, the Captain finally ordered to reduce the speed of the ship to 14 knots. At the same time, he ordered to put ballast water to the starboard-heeling tank to arrest the continuous listing of the ship. This was an exercise in futility because the ship was already listing between 15 to 20 degrees to her portside. The ship had almost reached the maximum angle of her loll. At this stage, she was about to lose her stability.
Despite this critical situation, the Captain executed several starboard maneuvers. Steering the course of the Princess to starboard had greatly added to her tilting. In the open seas, with a fast speed of 14 knots, advance maneuvers such as this would tend to bring the body of the ship in the opposite side. In navigational terms, this movement is described as the centripetal force. This force is produced by the water acting on the side of the ship away from the center of the turn. The force is considered to act at the center of lateral resistance which, in this case, is the centroid of the underwater area of the ship's side away from the center of the turn. In the case of the Princess, when the Captain maneuvered her to starboard, her body shifted its weight to port. Being already inclined to an angle of 15 degrees, coupled with the instantaneous movement of the ship, the cargoes below deck could have completely shifted its position and weight towards portside. By this time, the ship being ravaged simultaneously by ravaging waves and howling winds on her starboard side, finally lost her grip.[30]
x x x. [W]hile this Court yields to the findings of the said investigation report, yet it should be observed that what was complied with by Sulpicio Lines were only the basic and minimal safety standards which would qualify the vessel as seaworthy. In the same report however it also revealed that the immediate and proximate cause of the sinking of the M/V Princess of the Orient was brought by the following: erroneous maneuvering command of Captain Esrum Mahilum and due to the weather condition prevailing at the time of the tragedy. There is no doubt that under the circumstances the crew of the vessel were negligent in manning it. In fact this was clearly established by the investigation of the Board of Marine Inquiry where it was found that:The aforestated negligent acts of the officers and crew of M/V Princess of the Orient could not be ignored in view of the extraordinary duty of the common carrier to ensure the safety of the passengers. The totality of the negligence by the officers and crew of M/V Princess of the Orient, coupled with the seeming indifference of the petitioner to render assistance to Sesante,[36] warranted the award of moral damages.The Chief Mate, when interviewed under oath, had attested that he was not able to make stability calculation of the ship vis-a-vis her cargo. He did not even know the metacentric height (GM) of the ship whether it be positive or negative.He likewise failed to conduct the soundings (measurement) of the ballast tanks before the ship departed from port. He readily presumed that the ship was full of ballast since the ship was fully ballasted when she left Cebu for Manila on 16 September 1998 and had never discharge[d] its contents since that time.
As cargo officer of the ship, he failed to prepare a detailed report of the ship's cargo stowage plan.
Being the officer-in-charge for emergency situation (sic) like this, he failed to execute and supervise the actual abandonship (sic) procedure. There was no announcement at the public address system of abandonship (sic), no orderly distribution of life jackets and no orderly launching of life rafts. The witnesses have confirmed this finding on their sworn statements.
There was miscalculation in judgment on the part of the Captain when he erroneously navigated the ship at her last crucial moment. x x x
To aggravate his case, the Captain, having full command and responsibility of the MV Princess of the Orient, had failed to ensure the proper execution of the actual abandoning of the ship.
The deck and engine officers (Second Mate, Third Mate, Chief Engineers, Second Engineer, Third Engineer and Fourth Engineer), being in charge of their respective abandonship (sic) post, failed to supervise the crew and passengers in the proper execution of abandonship (sic) procedure.
The Radio Officer (spark) failed to send the SOS message in the internationally accepted communication network (VHF Channel 16). Instead, he used the Single Side Band (SSB) radio in informing the company about the emergency situation. x x x x[35]
Article 1754. The provisions of Articles 1733 to 1753 shall apply to the passenger's baggage which is not in his personal custody or in that of his employees. As to other baggage, the rules in Articles 1998 and 2000 to 2003 concerning the responsibility of hotel-keepers shall be applicable.The petitioner denies liability because Sesante's belongings had remained in his custody all throughout the voyage until the sinking, and he had not notified the petitioner or its employees about such belongings. Hence, absent such notice, liability did not attach to the petitioner.
x x x x
Article 1998. The deposit of effects made by travellers in hotels or inns shall also be regarded as necessary. The keepers of hotels or inns shall be responsible for them as depositaries, provided that notice was given to them, or to their employees, of the effects brought by the guests and that, on the part of the latter, they take the precautions which said hotel-keepers or their substitutes advised relative to the care and vigilance of their effects.
x x x x
Article 2000. The responsibility referred to in the two preceding articles shall include the loss of, or injury to the personal property of the guests caused by the servants or employees of the keepers of hotels or inns as well as by strangers; but not that which may proceed from any force majeure. The fact that travellers are constrained to rely on the vigilance of the keeper of the hotel or inn shall be considered in determining the degree of care required of him.
Article 2001. The act of a thief or robber, who has entered the hotel is not deemed force majeure, unless it is done with the use of arms or through an irresistible force.
Article 2002. The hotel-keeper is not liable for compensation if the loss is due to the acts of the guest, his family, servants or visitors, or if the loss arises from the character of the things brought into the hotel.
Article 2003. The hotel-keeper cannot free himself from responsibility by posting notices to the effect that he is not liable for the articles brought by the guest. Any stipulation to the contrary between the hotel-keeper and the guest whereby the responsibility of the former as set forth in Articles 1998 to 2001 is suppressed or diminished shall be void.
x x x. It is argued that this Court is without jurisdiction to adjudicate this exemplary damages since there was no allegation nor prayer, nor proof, nor counterclaim of error for the same by the appellees. It is to be observed however, that in the complaint, plaintiffs "prayed for such other and further relief as this Court may deem just and equitable." Now, since the body of the complaint sought to recover damages against the defendant-carrier wherein plaintiffs prayed for indemnification for the damages they suffered as a result of the negligence of said Silverio Marchan who is appellant's employee; and since exemplary damages is intimately connected with general damages, plaintiffs may not be expected to single out by express term the kind of damages they are trying to recover against the defendant's carrier. Suffice it to state that when plaintiffs prayed in their complaint for such other relief and remedies that may be availed of under the premises, in effect, therefore, the court is called upon to exercise and use its discretion whether the imposition of punitive or exemplary damages even though not expressly prayed or pleaded in the plaintiffs' complaint.And, secondly, exemplary damages are designed by our civil law to "permit the courts to reshape behavior that is socially deleterious in its consequence by creating negative incentives or deterrents against such behavior."[51] The nature and purpose for this kind of damages have been well-stated in People v. Dalisay,[52] to wit:
x x x It further appears that the amount of exemplary damages need not be proved, because its determination depends upon the amount of compensatory damages that may be awarded to the claimant. If the amount of exemplary damages need not be proved, it need not also be alleged, and the reason is obvious because it is merely incidental or dependent upon what the court may award as compensatory damages. Unless and until this premise is determined and established, what may be claimed as exemplary damages would amount to a mere surmise or speculation. It follows as a necessary consequence that the amount of exemplary damages need not be pleaded in the complaint because the same cannot be predetermined. One can merely ask that it be determined by the court if in the use of its discretion the same is warranted by the evidence, and this is just what appellee has done. (Bold underscoring supplied for emphasis)
Also known as 'punitive' or 'vindictive' damages, exemplary or corrective damages are intended to serve as a deterrent to serious wrong doings, and as a vindication of undue sufferings and wanton invasion of the rights of an injured or a punishment for those guilty of outrageous conduct. These terms are generally, but not always, used interchangeably. In common law, there is preference in the use of exemplary damages when the award is to account for injury to feelings and for the sense of indignity and humiliation suffered by a person as a result of an injury that has been maliciously and wantonly inflicted, the theory being that there should be compensation for the hurt caused by the highly reprehensible conduct of the defendant - associated with such circumstances as willfulness, wantonness, malice, gross negligence or recklessness, oppression, insult or fraud or gross fraud - that intensifies the injury. The terms punitive or vindictive damages are often used to refer to those species of damages that may be awarded against a person to punish him for his outrageous conduct. In either case, these damages are intended in good measure to deter the wrongdoer and others like him from similar conduct in the future. (Bold underscoring supplied for emphasis)The BMI found that the "erroneous maneuvers" during the ill-fated voyage by the captain of the petitioner's vessel had caused the sinking. After the vessel had cleared Limbones Point while navigating towards the direction of Fortune Island, the captain already noticed the listing of the vessel by three degrees to the portside of the vessel, but, according to the BMI, he did not exercise prudence as required by the situation in which his vessel was suffering the battering on the starboard side by big waves of seven to eight meters high and strong southwesterly winds of 25 knots. The BMI pointed out that he should have considerably reduced the speed of the vessel based on his experience about the vessel - a close-type ship of seven decks, and of a wide and high superstructure - being vulnerable if exposed to strong winds and high waves. He ought to have also known that maintaining a high speed under such circumstances would have shifted the solid and liquid cargo of the vessel to port, worsening the tilted position of the vessel. It was only after a few minutes thereafter that he finally ordered the speed to go down to 14 knots, and to put ballast water to the starboard-heeling tank to arrest the continuous listing at portside. By then, his moves became an exercise in futility because, according to the BMI, the vessel was already listing to her portside between 15 to 20 degrees, which was almost the maximum angle of the vessel's loll. It then became inevitable for the vessel to lose her stability.
x x x In the open seas, with a fast speed of 14 knots, advance maneuvers such as this would tend to bring the body of the ship in the opposite side. In navigational terms, this movement is described as the centripetal force. This force is produced by the water acting on the side of the ship away from the center of the turn. The force is considered to act at the center of lateral resistance which, in this case, is the centroid of the underwater area of the ship's side away from the center of the turn. In the case of the Princess, when the Captain maneuvered her to starboard, her body shifted its weight to port. Being already inclined to an angle of 15 degrees, coupled with the instantaneous movement of the ship, the cargoes below deck could have completely shifted its position and weight towards portside. By this time, the ship being ravaged simultaneously by ravaging waves and howling winds on her starboard side, finally lost her grip.[53]Clearly, the petitioner and its agents on the scene acted wantonly and recklessly. Wanton and reckless are virtually synonymous in meaning as respects liability for conduct towards others.[54] Wanton means characterized by extreme recklessness and utter disregard for the rights of others; or marked by or manifesting arrogant recklessness of justice or of rights or feelings of others.[55] Conduct is reckless when it is an extreme departure from ordinary care, in a situation in which a high degree of danger is apparent. It must be more than any mere mistake resulting from inexperience, excitement, or confusion, and more than mere thoughtlessness or inadvertence, or simple inattention.[56]
Anent the P1,000,000.00 allowed as exemplary damages, we should not reduce the amount if only to render effective the desired example for the public good. As a common carrier, the Perenas needed to be vigorously reminded to observe their duty to exercise extraordinary diligence to prevent a similarly senseless accident from happening again. Only by an award of exemplary damages in that amount would suffice to instill in them and others similarly situated like them the ever-present need for greater and constant vigilance in the conduct of a business imbued with public interest.[58] (Bold underscoring supplied for emphasis)WHEREFORE, the Court AFFIRMS the decision promulgated on June 27, 2005 with the MODIFICATIONS that: (a) the amount of moral damages is fixed at P1,000,000.00; (b) the amount of P1,000,000.00 is granted as exemplary damages; and (c) the sum of P120,000.00 is allowed as temperate damages, all to be paid to the heirs of the late Napoleon Sesante. In addition, all the amounts hereby awarded shall earn interest of 6% per annum from the finality of this decision until fully paid. Costs of suit to be paid by the petitioner.