G.R. No. 170141 - JAPAN AIRLINES, VS. JESUS SIMANGAN.D E C I S I O N - Supreme Court E-Library

Ruling

WHEREFORE, judgment is hereby rendered ordering the defendant to pay the plaintiff the amount of P1,000,000.00 as moral damages, the amount of P500,000.00 as exemplary damages and the amount of P250,000.00 as attorney's fees, plus the cost of suit. [29] The RTC explained: In summarily and insolently ordering the plaintiff to disembark while the latter was already settled in his assigned seat, the defendant violated the contract of carriage; that when the plaintiff was ordered out of the plane under the pretext that the genuineness of his travel documents would be verified it had caused him embarrassment and besmirched reputation; and that when the plaintiff was finally not allowed to take the flight, he suffered more wounded feelings and social humiliation for which the plaintiff was asking to be awarded moral and exemplary damages as well as attorney's fees. The reason given by the defendant that what prompted them to investigate the genuineness of the travel documents of the plaintiff was that the plaintiff was not then carrying a regular visa but just a letter does not appear satisfactory. The defendant is engaged in transporting passengers by plane from country to country and is therefore conversant with the travel documents. The defendant should not be allowed to pretend, to the prejudice of the plaintiff not to know that the travel documents of the plaintiff are valid documents to allow him entry in the United States. The foregoing act of the defendant in ordering the plaintiff to deplane while already settled in his assigned seat clearly demonstrated that the defendant breached its contract of carriage with the plaintiff as passenger in bad faith and as such the plaintiff is entitled to moral and exemplary damages as well as to an award of attorney's fees. [30] Disagreeing with the RTC judgment, JAL appealed to the CA contending that it is not guilty of breach of contract of carriage, hence, not liable for damages. [31] It posited that it is the one entitled to recover on its counterclaim. [32] CA Ruling In a Decision [33] dated May 31, 2005, the CA affirmed the decision of the RTC with modification in that it lowered the amount of moral and exemplary damages and deleted the award of attorney's fees. The fallo of the CA decision reads: WHEREFORE, the appealed Decision is AFFIRMED with MODIFICATION. Appellant JAPAN AIR LINES is ordered to pay appellee JESUS SIMANGAN the reduced sums, as follows: Five Hundred Thousand Pesos (P500,000.00) as moral damages, and Two Hundred Fifty Thousand Pesos (P250,000.00) as exemplary damages. The award of attorney's fees is hereby DELETED. [34] The CA elucidated that since JAL issued to respondent a round trip plane ticket for a lawful consideration, "there arose a perfected contract between them." [35] It found that respondent was "haughtily ejected" [36] by JAL and that "he was certainly embarrassed and humiliated" [37] when, in the presence of other passengers, JAL's airline staff "shouted at him to stan