GR 164749; (March, 2017) (Digest)
G.R. No. 164749 March 15, 2017
ROMULO ABROGAR and ERLINDA ABROGAR, Petitioners vs COSMOS BOTTLING COMPANY and INTERGAMES, INC., Respondents
FACTS
Petitioners are the parents of Rommel Abrogar, an 18-year-old participant in the “1st Pop Cola Junior Marathon” organized by respondent Intergames, Inc. and sponsored by respondent Cosmos Bottling Company. During the marathon on June 15, 1980, Rommel was struck and killed by a recklessly driven passenger jeepney along the race route on Don Mariano Marcos Avenue. The petitioners sued the respondents for damages, alleging that they failed to provide adequate safety measures, such as sufficient traffic marshals and a properly secured course, which constituted negligence.
The respondents raised separate defenses. Cosmos denied being an organizer, claiming it was merely a financial sponsor. Intergames asserted it exercised due diligence, that the jeepney driver’s negligence was the sole proximate cause, and that Rommel had assumed the risk by participating. The Regional Trial Court held both respondents solidarily liable. The Court of Appeals reversed this decision, prompting the petitioners’ appeal to the Supreme Court.
ISSUE
The primary issue is whether respondents Cosmos Bottling Company and Intergames, Inc. are solidarily liable for damages arising from negligence that led to the death of marathon participant Rommel Abrogar.
RULING
The Supreme Court granted the petition, reinstating the RTC decision with modification. The Court found both respondents solidarily liable for negligence. Intergames, as the organizer, had a duty to ensure participant safety. It breached this duty by plotting the race along open, busy public roads without implementing sufficient safety precautions, such as adequate traffic control or marshals to separate runners from vehicular traffic. This breach created a foreseeable risk of accident.
The Court rejected the argument that the jeepney driver’s negligence was an efficient intervening cause that severed the chain of causation. The organizer’s failure to secure the route was a contributing factor that cooperated with the driver’s negligence to produce the harm; thus, both were proximate causes. The defense of assumption of risk was also inapplicable, as Rommel did not assume the risk of organizer negligence. Cosmos, as the named sponsor deeply involved in promoting the event for its commercial benefit, could not evade liability by hiding behind its contract with Intergames. It shared responsibility for the event’s safe conduct. The award for loss of earning capacity was proper despite Rommel being a minor, as compensation is based on his potential future income. The Court imposed legal interest on all monetary awards at 6% per annum from finality of judgment until full satisfaction.