Gutierrez v. Gutierrez

G.R. No.
34840
September 23, 1931
NARCISO GUTIERREZ, plaintiff-appellee,
son was granted a license to operate motor vehicles made the father responsible for the acts of
his son. Based on these facts, pursuant to the provisions of article 1903 of the Civil Code, the
father alone and not the minor or the mother, would be liable for the damages caused by the
minor.
vs.
BONIFACIO GUTIERREZ, MARIA V. DE GUTIERREZ, MANUEL GUTIERREZ, ABELARDO
VELASCO, and SATURNINO CORTEZ, defendants-appellants.
L.D. Lockwood for appellants Velasco and Cortez.

San Agustin and Roxas for other appellants.
Ramon Diokno for appellee.
MALCOLM, J.:
This is an action brought by the plaintiff in the Court of First Instance of Manila against the five
defendants, to recover damages in the amount of P10,000, for physical injuries suffered as a
result of an automobile accident. On judgment being rendered as prayed for by the plaintiff, both
sets of defendants appealed.
On February 2, 1930, a passenger truck and an automobile of private ownership collided while
attempting to pass each other on the Talon bridge on the Manila South Road in the municipality of
Las Pias, Province of Rizal. The truck was driven by the chauffeur Abelardo Velasco, and was
owned by Saturnino Cortez. The automobile was being operated by Bonifacio Gutierrez, a lad 18
years of age, and was owned by Bonifacio's father and mother, Mr. and Mrs. Manuel Gutierrez. At
the time of the collision, the father was not in the car, but the mother, together will several other
members of the Gutierrez family, seven in all, were accommodated therein. A passenger in the
autobus, by the name of Narciso Gutierrez, was en route from San Pablo, Laguna, to Manila. The
collision between the bus and the automobile resulted in Narciso Gutierrez suffering a fracture
right leg which required medical attendance for a considerable period of time, and which even at
the date of the trial appears not to have healed properly.
It is conceded that the collision was caused by negligence pure and simple. The difference
between the parties is that, while the plaintiff blames both sets of defendants, the owner of the
passenger truck blames the automobile, and the owner of the automobile, in turn, blames the
truck. We have given close attention to these highly debatable points, and having done so, a
majority of the court are of the opinion that the findings of the trial judge on all controversial
questions of fact find sufficient support in the record, and so should be maintained. With this
general statement set down, we turn to consider the respective legal obligations of the
defendants.
We are dealing with the civil law liability of parties for obligations which arise from fault or
negligence. At the same time, we believe that, as has been done in other cases, we can take
cognizance of the common law rule on the same subject. In the United States, it is uniformly held
that the head of a house, the owner of an automobile, who maintains it for the general use of his
family is liable for its negligent operation by one of his children, whom he designates or permits to
run it, where the car is occupied and being used at the time of the injury for the pleasure of other
members of the owner's family than the child driving it. The theory of the law is that the running of
the machine by a child to carry other members of the family is within the scope of the owner's
business, so that he is liable for the negligence of the child because of the relationship of master
and servant. (Huddy On Automobiles, 6th ed., sec. 660; Missell vs. Hayes [1914], 91 Atl., 322.)
The liability of Saturnino Cortez, the owner of the truck, and of his chauffeur Abelardo Velasco
rests on a different basis, namely, that of contract which, we think, has been sufficiently
demonstrated by the allegations of the complaint, not controverted, and the evidence. The reason
for this conclusion reaches to the findings of the trial court concerning the position of the truck on
the bridge, the speed in operating the machine, and the lack of care employed by the chauffeur.
While these facts are not as clearly evidenced as are those which convict the other defendant, we
nevertheless hesitate to disregard the points emphasized by the trial judge. In its broader
aspects, the case is one of two drivers approaching a narrow bridge from opposite directions, with
neither being willing to slow up and give the right of way to the other, with the inevitable result of a
collision and an accident.
The defendants Velasco and Cortez further contend that there existed contributory negligence on
the part of the plaintiff, consisting principally of his keeping his foot outside the truck, which
occasioned his injury. In this connection, it is sufficient to state that, aside from the fact that the
defense of contributory negligence was not pleaded, the evidence bearing out this theory of the
case is contradictory in the extreme and leads us far afield into speculative matters.
The last subject for consideration relates to the amount of the award. The appellee suggests that
the amount could justly be raised to P16,517, but naturally is not serious in asking for this sum,
since no appeal was taken by him from the judgment. The other parties unite in challenging the
award of P10,000, as excessive. All facts considered, including actual expenditures and damages
for the injury to the leg of the plaintiff, which may cause him permanent lameness, in connection
with other adjudications of this court, lead us to conclude that a total sum for the plaintiff of P5,000
would be fair and reasonable. The difficulty in approximating the damages by monetary
compensation is well elucidated by the divergence of opinion among the members of the court,
three of whom have inclined to the view that P3,000 would be amply sufficient, while a fourth
member has argued that P7,500 would be none too much.
In consonance with the foregoing rulings, the judgment appealed from will be modified, and the
plaintiff will have judgment in his favor against the defendants Manuel Gutierrez, Abelardo
Velasco, and Saturnino Cortez, jointly and severally, for the sum of P5,000, and the costs of both
instances.
Avancea, C.J., Johnson, Street, Villamor, Ostrand, Romualdez, and Imperial, JJ., concur.
In amplification of so much of the above pronouncement as concerns the Gutierrez family, it may
be explained that the youth Bonifacio was in incompetent chauffeur, that he was driving at an
excessive rate of speed, and that, on approaching the bridge and the truck, he lost his head and
so contributed by his negligence to the accident. The guaranty given by the father at the time the

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G.R. No.

September 23, 1931

NARCISO GUTIERREZ, plaintiff-appellee,

L.D. Lockwood for appellants Velasco and Cortez.

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