G.R. No. 167797 - METRO MANILA TRANSIT CORPORATION, VS. REYNALDO CUEVAS AND JUNNEL CUEVAS, REPRESENTED BY REYNALDO CUEVAS.D E C I S I O N - Supreme Court E-Library

Ruling

WHEREFORE, it is most respectfully prayed that after notice and hearing a judgment be rendered ordering the defendants jointly and severally to pay Plaintiffs the following sums of money: 1) P200,000.00 more or less, representing actual medical expenses; 2) P18,940.00 representing the cost of repair of the damaged motorcycle 3) P300,000.00 as moral damage(s) 4) P100,000.00 as exemplary damage(s) 5) P50,000.00 as nominal damage(s) 6) P15,000.00 as litigation expenses 7) P30,000.00 as attorney's fees 8) to pay the cost of the suit. [3] In its answer with compulsory counterclaim and cross-claim, [4] MMTC denied liability, and averred that although it retained the ownership of the bus, the actual operator and employer of the bus driver was Mina's Transit; and that, in support of its cross-claim against Mina's Transit, a provision in the agreement to sell mandated Mina's Transport to hold it free from liability arising from the use and operation of the bus units. [5] On its part, Mina's Transit contended that it was not liable because: (a) it exercised due diligence in the selection and supervision of its employees; (b) its bus driver exercised due diligence; and (c) Junnel's negligence was the cause of the accident. Meanwhile, Mina's Transit filed a third-party complaint against its insurer, Perla Compania de Seguros, Inc. (Perla), seeking reimbursement should it be adjudged liable, pursuant to its insurance policy issued by Perla with the following coverage: (a) third-party liability of P50,000.00 as the maximum amount; and (b) third-party damage to property of P20,000.00 as the maximum amount. [6] In its answer to the third-party complaint, Perla denied liability as insurer because Mina's Transit had waived its recourse by failing to notify Perla of the incident within one year from its occurrence, as required by Section 384 of the Insurance Code. [7] It submitted that even assuming that the claim had not yet prescribed, its liability should be limited to the maximum of P50,000.00 for third-party liability and P20,000.00 for third-party damage. [8] After trial, the RTC rendered judgment in favor of the respondents on September 17, 1999 [9] ordering petitioner Metro Manila Transit Corporation (MMTC) and its co-defendant Mina's Transit Corporation (Mina's Transit) to pay damages in favor of respondents Reynaldo Cuevas and Junnel Cuevas to wit: WHEREFORE, premises considered, defendants Metro Manila Transit Corporation and Mina's Transit Corporation are hereby held solidarity liable for the payment to the plaintiffs of the following: a. P115,436.50 as actual damages; b. P100,000.00 as moral damages c. P50,000.00 as exemplary damages; and d. P20,000.00 as attorney's fees. Costs are also adjudged against defendants. SO ORDERED.