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    Mercedes M. Teague v. Elena Fernandez

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    Rhea Calabines
    A fire broke out near a vocational school, causing a panic among students. In the ensuing stampede, four students died including Lourdes Fernandez. Lourdes' siblings sued the school owner Mercedes Teague for damages, claiming negligence. The court found Teague negligent because the school building violated a city ordinance requiring two stairways of at least 1.2 meters each, but it only had one 1.5 meter stairway. While violation of a statute alone does not prove proximate cause, the court ruled the injury was of the type the ordinance intended to prevent, so the violation was the proximate cause of Lourdes' death. The appellate court decision holding Teague liable was affirmed.

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    Mercedes M. Teague v. Elena Fernandez

    Uploaded by

    Rhea Calabines
    119 views1 page
    A fire broke out near a vocational school, causing a panic among students. In the ensuing stampede, four students died including Lourdes Fernandez. Lourdes' siblings sued the school owner Mercedes Teague for damages, claiming negligence. The court found Teague negligent because the school building violated a city ordinance requiring two stairways of at least 1.2 meters each, but it only had one 1.5 meter stairway. While violation of a statute alone does not prove proximate cause, the court ruled the injury was of the type the ordinance intended to prevent, so the violation was the proximate cause of Lourdes' death. The appellate court decision holding Teague liable was affirmed.

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    6. Mercedes M. Teague v. Elena Fernandez

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    A fire broke out near a vocational school, causing a panic among students. In the ensuing stampede, four students died including Lourdes Fernandez. Lourdes' siblings sued the school owner Mercedes Teague for damages, claiming negligence. The court found Teague negligent because the school building violated a city ordinance requiring two stairways of at least 1.2 meters each, but it only had one 1.5 meter stairway. While violation of a statute alone does not prove proximate cause, the court ruled the injury was of the type the ordinance intended to prevent, so the violation was the proximate cause of Lourdes' death. The appellate court decision holding Teague liable was affirmed.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    119 views1 page

    Mercedes M. Teague v. Elena Fernandez

    Uploaded by

    Rhea Calabines
    A fire broke out near a vocational school, causing a panic among students. In the ensuing stampede, four students died including Lourdes Fernandez. Lourdes' siblings sued the school owner Mercedes Teague for damages, claiming negligence. The court found Teague negligent because the school building violated a city ordinance requiring two stairways of at least 1.2 meters each, but it only had one 1.5 meter stairway. While violation of a statute alone does not prove proximate cause, the court ruled the injury was of the type the ordinance intended to prevent, so the violation was the proximate cause of Lourdes' death. The appellate court decision holding Teague liable was affirmed.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    of 1

    MERCEDES M. TEAGUE vs.

    ELENA FERNANDEZ

    FACTS: A fire broke out in a store for surplus materials located about ten meters away from the
    Realistic Institute. Students inside the institute panicked. Four instructresses and six assistant
    instructress of the Institute were present and they, together with the registrar, tried to calm down
    the students. However, the panic could not be subdued and the students, with the exception of
    the few who made use of fire-escapes kept on rushing and pushing their way through the stairs,
    thereby causing stampede therein. No part of the building caught fire. But after the panic was
    over, four students, including Lourdes Fernandez, a sister of plaintiffs-appellants, were found
    dead and several others injured on account of the stampede.

    The deceased's five brothers and sisters filed an action for damages against Mercedes M.
    Teague as owner and operator of Realistic Institute. The decision of the appellate court
    declared that the defendant, hereinafter to be referred to as the petitioner, was negligent and
    that such negligence was the proximate cause of the death of Lourdes Fernandez. This finding
    of negligence is based primarily on the fact that the provision of Section 491 Of the Revised
    Ordinances of the City of Manila had not been complied with in connection with the construction
    and use of the Gil-Armi building where the petitioner's vocational school was housed The
    alleged violation of the ordinance consisted in the fact that the second storey of the Gil-Armi
    building had only one stairway, 1.5 meters wide, instead of two of at least 1.2 meters each,
    although at the time of the fire the owner of the building had a second stairway under
    construction.

    ISSUE: W/N petitioner is liable.

    RULING: Decision affirmed. RATIO: Petitioner was negligent and that such negligence was the
    proximate cause of the death of Lourdes Fernandez. This finding of negligence is based
    primarily on the fact that the provision of Section 491 Of the Revised Ordinances of the City of
    Manila had not been complied with in connection with the construction and use of the Gil-Armi
    building where the petitioner's vocational school was housed. The mere fact of violation of a
    statute is not sufficient basis for an inference that such violation was the proximate cause of the
    injury complained. However, if the very injury has happened which was intended to be
    prevented by the statute, it has been held that violation of the statute will be deemed to be
    proximate cause of the injury.

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