GR 148737; (June, 2004) (Digest)
G.R. No. 148737 ; June 16, 2004
ERNESTO PLEYTO and PHILIPPINE RABBIT BUS LINES, INC., petitioners, vs. MARIA D. LOMBOY and CARMELA LOMBOY, respondents.
FACTS
Petitioner Philippine Rabbit Bus Lines, Inc. (PRBL) is a public carrier, and petitioner Ernesto Pleyto was its bus driver. On May 16, 1995, Pleyto was driving a PRBL bus along MacArthur Highway in Gerona, Tarlac. While attempting to overtake a tricycle on a wet road during a drizzle, the bus sideswiped the tricycle. Pleyto then swerved into the opposite lane, resulting in a head-on collision with a southbound Mitsubishi Lancer car. The collision instantly killed the car’s driver, Arnulfo Asuncion, and passenger Ricardo Lomboy. Ricardo’s daughter, respondent Carmela Lomboy, who was also in the car, sustained injuries requiring hospitalization. Respondents Maria Lomboy (Ricardo’s widow) and Carmela filed an action for damages against Pleyto and PRBL.
Petitioners claimed the tricycle suddenly stopped, forcing Pleyto to swerve to avoid it, leading to the collision. They asserted the bus was in good condition and driven with due care. The trial court found Pleyto negligent for overtaking despite the adverse weather, slippery road, and an oncoming vehicle approximately fifty meters away. It held both petitioners solidarily liable for damages. The Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court’s findings on liability but modified the awarded amounts.
ISSUE
Whether the Court of Appeals erred in affirming the finding that petitioner Pleyto was negligent and that petitioner PRBL is solidarily liable for the resulting damages.
RULING
The Supreme Court denied the petition and affirmed the appellate court’s decision. The Court upheld the factual findings of the lower courts, which are generally conclusive and binding. The evidence established Pleyto’s negligence as the proximate cause of the accident. His attempt to overtake on a wet road with an oncoming vehicle nearby constituted a clear violation of traffic rules and a failure to exercise the extraordinary diligence required of a common carrier. His claim of a sudden stop by the tricycle was deemed a mere afterthought to evade liability.
Consequently, PRBL, as the employer and common carrier, is solidarily liable with its driver under Article 2180 of the Civil Code. The defense of exercising the diligence of a good father of a family in the selection and supervision of employees is unavailing in breaches of contract of carriage. A common carrier is bound to observe extraordinary diligence for the safety of its passengers and the public. Its liability is contractual and attaches upon proof of injury or death, with the burden to prove an exempting cause. PRBL failed to prove that the accident was due to a fortuitous event or that it exercised such extraordinary diligence. Thus, the solidary award of damages for death indemnity, loss of earning capacity, actual, and moral damages was proper.