G.R. No. 82068 March 31, 1989
SABENA BELGIAN WORLD AIRLINES, petitioner, vs. HONORABLE COURT OF APPEALS and CONCEPCION, OCTAVIO, ESTRELLA and GEMMA, all surnamed FULE, respondents.

FACTS

Concepcion Fule and her children, passengers of Sabena Airlines, arrived in Brussels on March 30, 1979. Upon disembarking and later reboarding for a connecting flight, they had to walk approximately 20-30 meters from the aircraft to the terminal in a slight drizzle without any protective cover such as an umbrella or shuttle bus, causing their clothing to get wet. In Barcelona, Mrs. Fule’s luggage was missing. After waiting and being advised to check later, she purchased replacement clothing and incurred expenses for a telephone call and taxi fare when the luggage was located and delivered late that evening. The passengers subsequently fell ill, attributing their sickness to the exposure, and incurred medical and additional hotel expenses.
Mrs. Fule filed a claim with Sabena’s Madrid office. An employee, Angel Yancha, presented her with a check for 8,620 pesetas and a document written in French for her signature, which he did not translate or explain. This document was later revealed to be a quitclaim releasing Sabena from further liability. Mrs. Fule, not understanding French, signed it. She later demanded full payment of her claimed expenses and moral damages from Sabena’s Manila office.

ISSUE

Whether Sabena Belgian World Airlines is liable for damages arising from breach of contract of carriage.

RULING

Yes, Sabena is liable, but the awards for damages must be calibrated according to the degree of negligence. The Supreme Court affirmed the Court of Appeals’ modified decision. As a common carrier, Sabena is bound to observe extraordinary diligence. Its failure to provide adequate protection from the rain during disembarkation and boarding in Brussels constituted simple negligence, not gross negligence or bad faith. Therefore, the award of exemplary damages was properly deleted by the appellate court, as such damages require a finding of gross negligence or willful act.
However, the airline was found to have acted in bad faith in its settlement conduct. The act of its employee, Yancha, in having Mrs. Fule sign a quitclaim written in an unfamiliar language without any explanation constituted deceit, vitiating her consent. For this separate act of bad faith, the reduced award of moral damages (P25,000.00) was upheld. The Court also sustained the award for actual damages representing the unsettled balance of the passengers’ proven expenses. The legal logic distinguishes between the negligence in carriage (simple) and the bad faith in post-incident dealings, with only the latter supporting moral damages in a breach of contract case where no death resulted.