[61] LARA V.

VALENCIA Valencia to allow them to ride with him up to Davao because there was
G.R. No. L-9907 | June 30, 1958 | Bautista Angelo, J. then no available bus
● When they continued their trip, the sitting arrangement of the passengers
TOPIC: Private nature; rights and obligations of parties inter se arising from remained the same, Lara being seated on a bag in the middle with his arms on
transactions relating to transportation - Absent a transportation contract a suitcase and his head covered by a jacket.
● Upon reaching Km. 96, barrio Catidtuan, Lara accidentally fell from the pick-
SUMMARY: Lara, an inspector of the Bureau of Forestry, went to Valencia’s lumber up and as a result he suffered serious injuries.
concession as part of his duty to classify the logs. While Lara was doing his job, he ● Valencia stopped the pick-up to see what happened to Lara. He sought the
contracted malaria fever so he hurriedly returned to Davao. In his return, he asked help of the residents of that place and applied water to Lara but to no avail.
Valencia to take him in his pick up as there was no other means of transportation, to ● They brought Lara to the nearest place where they could find a doctor and
which Valencia agreed to. On their way, Lara accidentally fell from the pick-up and as not having found any they took him to St. Joseph's Clinic of Kidapawan.
a result, he suffered serious injuries and subsequently died upon arriving at a clinic. But when Lara arrived he was already dead.
Hence, action for damages was filed by plaintiffs who were relatives of Lara. Court ● From there they proceeded to Davao City and immediately notified the local
ruled that Valencia cannot be liable because as driver and owner of the vehicle, he authorities.
has observed the required ordinary diligence in transporting Lara. The Court rather ● An investigation was made regarding the circumstances surrounding the death
attributed the incident to the lack of care of Lara. of Lara but no criminal action was taken against defendant.
● An action for damages was brought by plaintiffs (relatives of Lara) against
DOCTRINE: Valencia in CFI of Davao for Lara's death allegedly caused by the negligent act
OWNER OR OPERATOR: The owner or operator of an automobile owes the duty to of Valencia, which Valencia denied
an invited guest to exercise reasonable care in its operation, and not unreasonably to ● CFI: Valencia failed to observe ordinary care or diligence in transporting the
expose him to danger and injury by increasing the hazard of travel. An owner of an deceased from Parang to Davao
automobile owes a guest the duty to exercise ordinary or reasonable care to avoid o Ordered him to pay Lara, et al.: Php10K moral damages, Php3K
injuring him. exemplary damages, and Php1K atty’s fees
o The journey from Cotabato to Davao is not less than 8 hours, the road is
PASSENGER: A passenger must observe the diligence of a good father of a family to in poor condition, uneven, with protruding rocks and potholes that make
avoid injury to himself" (Article 1761, new Civil Code), which means that if the injury to up not stable in their vehicle. Lara was sick of a certain severity, had the
the passenger has been proximately caused by his own negligence, the carrier body and swollen face, attacked by malaria, headaches and rashes on
cannot be held liable. the face and body.
o Valencia ought to know that it was extremely dangerous to carry 5
FACTS: passengers in the back of the pick-up, particularly for the health of Lara.
● Demetrio Lara, Sr. was an inspector of the Bureau of Forestry in Davao with He did not exercise the proper precautions to avoid possible fatal
annual salary of Php1,800. accidents
● Brigido Valencia is engaged in the business of exporting logs from his lumber o Lara's refusal to occupy the front seat does not constitute a defense
concession in Cotabato. because Valencia, knowing the poor health of Lara, should not have
● Lara went to the lumber concession upon instructions of his chief to allowed him to return to Davao in his pickup. If he wanted to
classify the logs of Valencia which were about to be loaded on a ship accommodate Lara, he should have provided Lara of an automobile to
anchored in the port of Parang. return to Davao or left Lara in Samoay to catch a passenger bus from
o Classification lasted six days, during which Lara contracted malaria Cotabato to Davao
fever. ● Hence, this Petition.
● Lara, in a hurry to return to Davao, asked Valencia if Valencia could take Lara
in his pick-up as there was no other means of transportation, to which
Valencia agreed and left for Davao with 6 passengers including Lara ISSUES:
o The pick-up had a front seat where the driver and 2 passengers can be W/N Valencia as driver and owner of the vehicle failed to observe ordinary care or
accommodated; while the back had a steel floor, 16- to 17-in. steel side diligence in transporting Lara, Sr., and should be liable for his death - NO.
walls, and 19-in. back wall, where two improvised benches were placed
on each side RATIO:
o Lara sat on a bag in the middle of the back; before leaving Parang,
Valencia offered Lara to sit with him in front but Lara declined ● The accident occurred not due to the negligence of Valencia but to
o Agreement: passengers alight at Samoay, Cotabato and take a bus to circumstances beyond his control and so he should be exempt from liability.
Davao; but only one alighted and the other passengers requested
● Deceased Lara, as well as his companions who rode in the pick-up of Valencia o And even if this is correct, such speed is not unreasonable considering
were merely accommodation passengers who paid nothing for the service and so that they were traveling on a national road and the traffic then was not
they can be considered as invited guests within the meaning of the law. heavy.
● As accommodation passengers or invited guests, Valencia as owner and driver ● DUTY OF PASSENGER: Incident can be attributed to lack of care on the part of
of the pick-up owes to them merely the duty to exercise reasonable care so that the deceased considering that the pick-up was open and he was then in a
they may be transported safely to their destination. crouching position. "A passenger must observe the diligence of a good father of a
family to avoid injury to himself" (Article 1761, new Civil Code), which means that
Obligation of Owner to Invited Guests/Accommodation Passengers: if the injury to the passenger has been proximately caused by his own
Reasonable/Ordinary Care negligence, the carrier cannot be held liable.
● The owner or operator of an automobile owes the duty to an invited guest
to exercise reasonable care in its operation, and not unreasonably to RULING: CFI Decision REVERSED.
expose him to danger and injury by increasing the hazard of travel.
o An owner of an automobile owes a guest the duty to exercise ordinary
or reasonable care to avoid injuring him.
● 5 Am. Jur., 626-627: Since one riding in an automobile is no less a guest
because he asked for the privilege of doing so, the same obligation of care is
imposed upon the driver as in the case of one expressly invited to ride"
● Valencia, therefore, is only required to observe ordinary care, and is not in
duty bound to exercise extraordinary diligence as required of a common
carrier by our law (Articles 1755 and 1756, new Civil Code)

ITC, ordinary care was present

● Facts found CFI are not sufficient to show that Valencia has failed to take
the precaution necessary to conduct his passengers safely to their place of
destination.
o There is nothing there to indicate that Valencia has acted with
negligence or without taking the precaution that an ordinary prudent
man would have taken under similar circumstances.
● Lara went to the lumber concession of Valencia in answer to a call of duty which
he was bound to perform because of the requirement of his office and he
contracted the malaria fever in the course of the performance of that duty.
● Valencia was not in duty bound to take the deceased in his own pick-up to
Davao because from Parang to Cotabato there was a line of transportation that
regularly makes trips for the public, and if Valencia agreed to take the
deceased in his own car, it was only to accommodate him considering his
feverish condition and his request that he be so accommodated.
● The passengers who rode in the pick-up of Valencia took their respective seats
therein at their own choice and not upon indication of Valencia with the
particularity that Valencia invited the deceased to sit with him in the front
seat but which invitation the deceased declined.
● It was Lara's own desire to be at the back so that he could sit on a bag and travel
in a, reclining position because such was more convenient for him due to his
feverish condition.
● Unfortunate happening was only due to an unforeseen accident caused by the
fact that at the time Lara was half asleep and must have fallen from the pick-
up when it ran into some stones causing it to jerk considering that the road
was then bumpy, rough and full of stones.
● On CFI’s finding that the pick-up was running at more than 40 kph, Court said
that this is not supported by the evidence. This is a mere surmise made by CFI
considering the time the pick-up left barrio Samoay and the time the accident
occurred in relation to the distance covered by the pick-up.