G.R. No. 148974 ; July 2, 2010
OMC CARRIERS, INC. and JERRY AÑALUCAS y PITALINO, Petitioners, vs. SPOUSES ROBERTO C. NABUA and ROSARIO T. NABUA, Respondents.

FACTS

On August 4, 1995, a private tanker owned by petitioner OMC Carriers, Inc. and driven by its employee, petitioner Jerry Añalucas, collided with an Isuzu Gemini along Quirino Highway in Quezon City. The Gemini, driven by 18-year-old Reggie Nabua, was making a left turn into a Caltex gasoline station at the time of the impact. The collision caused heavy damage to the Gemini and resulted in Reggie Nabua’s death. His parents, respondent spouses, filed a complaint for damages against the petitioners before the Regional Trial Court (RTC).
The RTC ruled in favor of the respondents, holding petitioners jointly and solidarily liable for actual, compensatory, moral, and exemplary damages, plus attorney’s fees. On appeal, the Court of Appeals (CA) affirmed the RTC’s finding of liability but modified the award by absolving OMC’s General Manager and deleting the awards for lost earnings and exemplary damages for lack of basis. Petitioners sought a review, arguing that the proximate cause of the accident was the victim’s own negligence.

ISSUE

Whether the Court of Appeals erred in affirming the finding that the negligence of petitioner Añalucas was the proximate cause of the accident, and in its award of damages.

RULING

The Supreme Court denied the petition and affirmed the CA decision with modification on the interest rate. The Court held that the petitioners’ argument concerning the victim’s alleged negligence involved a question of fact, which is not reviewable in a petition for review under Rule 45. Factual findings of the Court of Appeals are binding and conclusive upon this Court, absent any showing of grave abuse of discretion or a total void of evidence. Both the RTC and the CA correctly found, based on credible eyewitness testimonies, that the victim was driving at a very slow pace with his signal on when making the turn, while petitioner Añalucas was driving the tanker at a fast speed and failed to exercise due care to avoid the collision. This constituted negligence, which was the proximate cause of the accident.
Regarding damages, the Court sustained the awards for actual damages (funeral expenses), moral damages, and attorney’s fees. However, it reinstated the award of temperate damages in lieu of actual damages for the loss of the vehicle, as the respondents presented sufficient evidence of the car’s value but not the exact cost of repair. The Court also imposed legal interest on all monetary awards at the rate of six percent (6%) per annum from the date of the RTC’s final judgment until full satisfaction, in accordance with prevailing jurisprudence. The employer, OMC Carriers, Inc., is held solidarily liable with its driver under the principle of respondeat superior.