Digest Part 1 Oblicon
Digest Part 1 Oblicon
Digest Part 1 Oblicon
L-21676
in the trial court the SC found this statement: For all she
did to her aunt she expected not to be paid.
G.) When a person does not expect to be paid for his
services, there cannot be a contract implied in fact to
make compensation for said services. However, no
contract implied in fact to make compensation for personal
services performed for another arises unless the party
furnishing the services then expected or had reason to
expect the payment or compensation by the other party. To
give rise to an implied contract to pay for services,
they must have been rendered by one party in
expectation that the other party would pay for them,
and have been accepted by the other party with
knowledge of that expectation.
H.) In the same manner when the person rendering the services
has renounced his fees, the services are not demandable
obligations. Even if it be assumed for the sake of argument
that the services of petitioners constituted a demandable
debt, We still have to ask whether in the instant case this
was the consideration for which the deceased made the
(alleged) disposition of the property to the petitioners. As
we have adverted to, we have not come across in the record
even a claim that there was an express agreement between
petitioners and Belen Aldaba that the latter would give the
property in question in consideration of the services of
petitioners. All that petitioners could claim regarding this
matter was that "it was impliedly understood" between
them. 5 How said agreement was implied and from what
facts it was implied, petitioners did not make clear. The
question of whether or not what is relied upon as a
consideration had been knowingly accepted by the parties
as a consideration, is a question of fact, 6 and the Court of
Appeals has not found in the instant case that the lots in
question were given to petitioners in consideration of the
services rendered by them to Belen Aldaba.
The death of the appellant pending appeal and prior to the finality of
conviction extinguished his criminal and civil liabilities arising from the
delict or crime. Hence, the criminal case against him, not the appeal,
should be dismissed.
A.) Pedro Abungan was found guilty of the crime of murder by the
lower courts. He was sentenced to jail and was ordered to
indemnify the heirs of the offended party. However, pending appeal
of the case and prior to the finality of conviction, Abungan died in
the New Bilibid Prison Hospital.
B.) The main issue at hand is the effect of death Abungan towards this
case. The SC applied article 89, number 1 of the RPC which states
that "Art. 89. How criminal liability is totally extinguished. Criminal liability is totally extinguished: 1. By the death of the
convict, as to the personal penalties; and as to pecuniary penalties,
liability therefor is extinguished only when the death of the
offender occurs before final judgment; Hence, the SC held that
Abungans criminal case must be dismissed.
C.) Thus, the SC ratiocinated that the order of the lower court in
sentencing him to jail and to indemnify the heirs of the offended
party became ineffectual. However, the SC noted that the death of
the accused only extinguishes the decedents civil liability based
on delict. This does not in any way affect the civil liability arising
from the other sources of obligation (Article 1157, CC). an action
for recovery therefor may be pursued but only by way of filing a
separate civil action and subject to Section 1, Rule 111 of the 1985
Rules on Criminal Procedure as amended. This separate civil action
may be enforced either against the executor/administrator or the
estate of the accused, depending on the source of obligation upon
which it is based.
The problem now concerns the civil aspect of the case. Petitioners
claim that the complaint filed against them in the trial court has
already prescribed, hence, should be, as it should have been,
dismissed by respondent Judge.
The SC ruled that the action for damages against the convicted
defendants was sanctioned by Art. 33 of the Civil Code which
allowed an independent civil action in case of physical injuries,
which include death. The complaint stated a cause of action against
those acquitted because the Military Commission did not explain
the grounds for their acquittal. After all, it was not under any
obligation to do so. Hence, it would be premature to dismiss the
civil action against them.
*Concurring opinions of justices stated that prescriptive periods of
civil cases is not coterminous with the prescriptive periods of
criminal cases as in the case where civil liability based on the crime
committed becomes a source of obligation. These are entirely
separate cases which operate on their own prescriptive periods.
Further, Civil liability arising from quasi-delicts is another source of
obligation apart from civil liabilities arising solely from the crime or
delict. Therefore, this becomes a right of an offended party to file
another civil action for damages different from the former.
EQUATORIAL REALTY DEVT INC. v. MAYFAIR THEATRE
[G.R. No. 106063. November 21, 1996]
FACTS:
Petitioner Carmelo and Bauermann Inc. leased its parcel of land
with 2-storey building to respondent Mayfair Theater Inc.
They entered a contract which provides that if the LESSOR should
desire to sell the leased premises, the LESSEE shall be given 30days exclusive option to purchase the same.
Carmelo informed Mayfair that it will sell the property to Equatorial.
Mayfair made known its interest to buy the property but only to the
extent of the leased premises.
Notwithstanding Mayfairs intention, Carmelo sold the property to
Equatorial.
ISSUE:
FACTS:
Barredo Spouses bought a house and lot with the proceedsof a
P50k loan from the SSS which was payable in 25 years andan P88k
loan from the Apex Mortgage and Loans Corporationwhich was
payable in 20 years. To secure the twin loans, theyexecuted a first
mortgage over the house and lot in favor of SSSand a second one
in favor of Apex.
*note: the case is relatively short. Refer to the full text for facts.
RULING:
1. Yes. The popular notion that credit card purchases are approved
within seconds, there really is no strict, legally determinative
point of demarcation on how long must it take for a credit card
company to approve or disapprove a customers purchase, much
less one specifically contracted upon by the parties. One hour
appears to be patently unreasonable length of time to approve or
disapprove a credit card purchase.
FACTS:
After the Amsterdam incident that happened involving the delay of
American Express Card to approve his credit card purchases worth
US$13,826.00 at the Coster store, Pantaleon commenced a
complaint for moral and exemplary damages before the RTC
against American Express. He said that he and his family
experienced inconvenience and humiliation due to the delays in
credit authorization. RTC rendered a decision in favor of Pantaleon.
CA reversed the award of damages in favor of Pantaleon, holding
that AmEx had not breached its obligations to Pantaleon, as the
purchase at Coster deviated from Pantaleon's established charge
purchase pattern.
ISSUE:
1. Did AmEx committed a breach of its obligations to Pantaleon?
2. Is AmEx liable for damages?
The case was re-raffled anew in another RTC which later reinstated
the injunction. UCPB filed an appeal with the CA. The CA affirmed
the RTC. UCPB filed for reconsideration which was eventually
granted.
In the main, Angeles averred that they have a clear right to
injunction based on the fact that UCPB never explained how the
loan went up to P132 M; that UCPB refused to give them a detailed
accounting of the partial foreclosure and that they gave a P10 M
payment which prevented the determination of the maturity of the
obligation.
ISSUE: Do the Spouses Angeles have a right to forestall the
foreclosure?
HELD: No. Angeles is clearly in default per provisions laid down in
their Credit Agreement with UCPB which is the binding law between
the parties. In fact, the parties stipulated in their credit
agreements, mortgage contracts and promissory notes that
respondent was authorized to foreclose on the mortgages, in case
of a default by petitioners. That this authority was granted is not
disputed.
There are three requisites necessary for a finding of default. First,
the obligation is demandable and liquidated; second, the debtor
delays performance; third, the creditor judicially or extrajudicially
requires the debtors performance. All three were present in this
case.
The 1st requisite is present notwithstanding a detailed accounting of
the partially foreclosed properties. A debt is liquidated when the
amount is known or is determinable by inspection of the terms and
conditions of the relevant promissory notes and related
documentation. Failure to furnish a debtor a detailed statement of
account does not ipso facto result in an unliquidated obligation.
It is in fact clear from the agreement of the parties that when the
payment is accelerated due to an event of default, the penalty
charge shall be based on the total principal amount outstanding, to
be computed from the date of acceleration until the obligation is
paid in full. Their Credit Agreement even provides for the
application of payments. It appears from the agreements that the
amount of total obligation is known or, at the very least,
determinable.
Further, in the Real Estate Mortgage agreement between the
parties (in the Event of Default clause), Angeles granted UCPB
the right to extrajudicially foreclose the properties mortgaged
which secured the loan/obligation.
When Dr. Gueco delivered the mangers check of P150k, the car
was not released because of his refusal to sign the Joint Motion to
Dismiss. The bank insisted that the JMD is a standard operating
procedure to effect a compromise & to preclude future filing of
claims or suits for damages.
Gueco spouses filed an action against the bank for fraud, failing to
inform them regarding JMD during the meeting & for not releasing
the car if they do not sign the said motion.
Issue: Was the bank guilty of fraud?
Held:
No. Fraud has been defined as the deliberate intention to cause
damage or prejudice. It is the voluntary execution of a wrongful act,
or a willful omission, knowing and intending the effects which
naturally and necessarily arise from such act or omission. The fraud
referred to in Article 1170 of the Civil Code is the deliberate and
intentional evasion of the normal fulfillment of obligation.
We fail to see how the act of the petitioner bank in requiring the
respondent to sign the joint motion to dismiss could constitute as
fraud. The JMD cannot in any way have prejudiced Dr. Gueco. The
motion to dismiss was in fact also for the benefit of Dr. Gueco, as
the case filed by petitioner against it before the lower court would
be dismissed with prejudice. The whole point of the parties entering
into the compromise agreement was in order that Dr. Gueco would
pay his outstanding account and in return petitioner would return
the car and drop the case for money and replevin before the
Metropolitan Trial Court. The joint motion to dismiss was but a
natural consequence of the compromise agreement and simply
stated that Dr. Gueco had fully settled his obligation, hence, the
dismissal of the case. Petitioners act of requiring Dr. Gueco to sign
the joint motion to dismiss cannot be said to be a deliberate
attempt on the part of petitioner to renege on the compromise
agreement of the parties.
The law presumes good faith. Dr. Gueco failed to present an iota of
evidence to overcome this presumption. In fact, the act of
petitioner bank in lowering the debt of Dr. Gueco from P184,000.00
to P150,000.00 is indicative of its good faith and sincere desire to
settle the case. If respondent did suffer any damage, as a result of
the withholding of his car by petitioner, he has only himself to
blame. Necessarily, the claim for exemplary damages must fail. In
FACTS:
A mother and her son boarded a passenger auto-truck of the
Philippine Rabbit Bus Lines. While entering a wooden bridge, its
front wheels swerved to the right, the driver lost control and the
truck fell into a breast-deep creek. The mother drowned and the
son sustained injuries. These cases involve actions ex contractu
against the owners of PRBL filed by the son and the heirs of the
mother. Lower Court dismissed the actions, holding that the
accident was a fortuitous event.
ISSUE:
Whether or not the carrier is liable for the manufacturing defect of
the steering knuckle, and whether the evidence discloses that in
regard thereto the carrier exercised the diligence required by law
(Art. 1755, new Civil Code)
HELD:
Yes.
The rationale of the carriers liability is the fact that the passengers
has no privity with the manufacturer of the defective equipment;
hence, he has no remedy against him, while the carrier has. We
find that the defect could be detected. The periodical, usual
inspection of the steering knuckle did not measure up to the
utmost diligence of a very cautious person as far as human care
and foresight can provide and therefore the knuckles failure
cannot be considered a fortuitous event that exempts the carrier
from responsibility.