Ruks Konsult vs. Adworld Sign

Ruks Konsult vs. Adworld Sign

GR No. 204866, January 21, 2015

Perlas-Bernabe, J.:

Facts:

Adworld filed for damages against Transworld when Transworld’s billboard structure collapsed and crashed against Adworld’s billboard structure, which was misaligned and its foundation impaired.

In its Answer with Counterclaim, Transworld averred that the collapse of its billboard structure was due to extraordinarily strong winds that occurred instantly and unexpectedly, and maintained that the damage caused to Adworld’s billboard structure was hardly noticeable. Transworld likewise filed a Third-Party Complaint against Ruks, the company which built the collapsed billboard structure in the former’s favor. It was alleged therein that the structure constructed by Ruks had a weak and poor foundation not suited for billboards, thus, prone to collapse, and as such, Ruks should ultimately be held liable for the damages caused to Adworld’s billboard structure.

Issue:

Whether Ruks was solidarily liable with Transworld for the damages in Adworld’s billboard

Held:

Yes.

Jurisprudence defines negligence as the omission to do something which a reasonable man, guided by those considerations which ordinarily regulate the conduct of human affairs, would do, or the doing of something which a prudent and reasonable man would not do. It is the failure to observe for the protection of the interest of another person that degree of care, precaution, and vigilance which the circumstances justly demand, whereby such other person suffers injury.

In this case, the CA correctly affirmed the RTC’s finding that Transworld’s initial construction of its billboard’s lower structure without the proper foundation, and that of Ruks’s finishing its upper structure and just merely assuming that Transworld would reinforce the weak foundation are the two (2) successive acts which were the direct and proximate cause of the damages sustained by Adworld. Worse, both Transworld and Ruks were fully aware that the foundation for the former’s billboard was weak; yet, neither of them took any positive step to reinforce the same. They merely relied on each other’s word that repairs would be done to such foundation, but none was done at all. Clearly, the foregoing circumstances show that both Transworld and Ruks are guilty of negligence in the construction of the former’s billboard, and perforce, should be held liable for its collapse and the resulting damage to Adworld’s billboard structure.

As joint tortfeasors, therefore, they are solidarily liable to Adworld. Verily, "[j]oint tortfeasors are those who command, instigate, promote, encourage, advise, countenance, cooperate in, aid or abet the commission of a tort, or approve of it after it is done, if done for their benefit. They are also referred to as those who act together in committing wrong or whose acts, if independent of each other, unite in causing a single injury. Under Article 2194 of the Civil Code, joint tortfeasors are solidarily liable for the resulting damage. In other words, joint tortfeasors are each liable as principals, to the same extent and in the same manner as if they had performed the wrongful act themselves." The Court’s pronouncement in People v. Velasco is instructive on this matter, to wit:

Where several causes producing an injury are concurrent and each is an efficient cause without which the injury would not have happened, the injury may be attributed to all or any of the causes and recovery may be had against any or all of the responsible persons although under the circumstances of the case, it may appear that one of them was more culpable, and that the duty owed by them to the injured person was not same. No actor's negligence ceases to be a proximate cause merely because it does not exceed the negligence of other actors. Each wrongdoer is responsible for the entire result and is liable as though his acts were the sole cause of the injury.

There is no contribution between joint [tortfeasors] whose liability is solidary since both of them are liable for the total damage. Where the concurrent or successive negligent acts or omissions of two or more persons, although acting independently, are in combination the direct and proximate cause of a single injury to a third person, it is impossible to determine in what proportion each contributed to the injury and either of them is responsible for the whole injury.