Torts: An act or omission producing an injury to another, without any previous legal relation of which

the said act or omission may be said to be a natural outgrowth or incident.\

Kinds of Negligence:
• culpa contractual (contractual negligence)
• culpa aquiliana (quasi-delict)
• culpa criminal (criminal negligence)

Quasi Delict- fault or negligence of a person who, by his acts or omission, connected or unconnected
with, but independent from, any contractual relation, causes damage to another person. (Art. 2176 of
the CC)
Requisites:
1. act or omission constituting fault or negligence
2. damage caused by the said act or omission
3. causal relation between the damage and the act or omission
4. absence of contractual relation between plaintiff and defendant. (no longer cited because an
action based on quasi-delict can be maintained even if there is an existing contractual relation
between the parties)

Delict - criminal negligence; covered by Art. 365 of RPC

Requisites:
1. offender does or fails to do an act
2. that the doing or the failure to do the act is voluntary
3. that it be without malice
4. that material damages results from the reckless imprudence
5. there is an inexcusable lack of precaution on the part of the offender, taking into consideration
his employment or occupation, degree of intelligence, physical condition, and other
circumstances

Negligence – omission of that degree of diligence which is required by the nature of the obligation and
corresponding to the circumstances of time, persons, and place. (Art. 1173); Test of what a reasonable
ordinary man requires the application of the test of foreseeability.

Circumstances to consider in determining the existence of negligence:

1. Time
2. Place
3. Emergency (emergency rule) - the law takes stock of impulses of humanity when placed in a
threatening or dangerous situations and does not require the same standard of thoughtful and
reflective care from persons confronted by unusual and often time threatening situations
4. Gravity of harm to be avoided - even if the odds that an injury will result is not high, harm
may still be considered foreseeable if the gravity of the harm to be avoided is great.
5. Alternative cause of action - if the alternative presented to the actor is too costly, the harm that
may result may still be considered unforeseeable to a reasonable man, more so if there is no
alternative thereto.
6. Social value or utility of activity - Any act which subjects an innocent person to an
unnecessary risk is a negligent act if the risk outweighs the advantage accruing to the actor and
even to the innocent person himself.
 7. Person exposed to the risk - a higher degree of diligence is required if the person involved is a
child.

Paterfamilias – diligence of a good father of a family • reasonable man; ordinary prudent man

Culpa aquiliana Crimes

Affects private concerns
CC merely repairs damages
by means of indemnification
Includes all acts which any
kind of fault or negligence
intervenes
Liability of employer is direct
and primary
Affects public interest
RPC punishes or corrects
criminal act
Punishes only those covered by
penal laws
Liability of employer is
subsidiary
Circumstances To Prove Negligence
 knowledge and experience of the actor
 children
o A child who is 9 yrs. old can still be subsidiarily liable with his properties. (Art. 101,
RPC) absence of negligence or intent on the part of the child may not excuse the parents
from their vicarious liability under Art. 2180 of CC or Art. 221 of FC.
 physical disability
 experts & professionals
an act may be negligent if it is done without the competence that a reasonable person in the
position of the actor would recognize as necessary to prevent it from creating an
unreasonable risk of harm to another. (Far Eastern Shipping Co. vs CA)
 nature of activity
 intoxication
o If one's conduct is characterized by a proper degree of care and prudence, it is
immaterial whether he is drunk or sober. (Wright vs. MERALCO)
 Insanity
 Women
 Others
o Violation of Rules & Statutes
o Practice & Customs
 one who performs an act so inherently dangerous cannot, when an accident
occurs, take refuge behind the plea that other have performed the same act safely
(Yamada vs Manila Raillroad Co. [1915])
o Compliance with Rules & Statutes

Degrees of Negligence
1. ordinary negligence
2. Gross negligence - recognized in Art. 2231 of the Civil Code; where there is want of even slight
care and diligence. (Amadeo vs Olabarrieta)

Presumption of Negligence • Art. 2184 & 2185; presumption of the negligence of a motor driver; Art.
2188; possession of deadly weapon • presumption of negligence may also arise because of certain
contractual relationship.

Res Ipsa Loquitur • the thing speaks for itself • function: aid plaintiff in proving elements of a
negligence case by circumstantial evidence;
Requisites:
1. the accident is of a kind which ordinarily does not occur in the absence of someone's negligence
2. it is caused by an instrumentality within the exclusive control of the defendant or defendants
3. the possibility of contributing conduct which would make the plaintiff responsibility is applied
DAMAGES

injury – legal invasion of a right;

damage – lost, hurt or harm
damages – compensation of the lost, hurt or harm caused by the legal invasion of a right

damnum absque injuria – damages without injury; one who exercise a right does no injury except is
the provisions on human relations apply (Art. 19-21, NCC) read the case of Custodio vs CA (property
case)

Types of damages:(mental) •
1. Moral - awarded to afford plaintiff the means of diversion or to alleviate moral sufferings.
malice on the part of the defendant should be proven
2. Exemplary - corrective damages; Art. 2229, NCC; bad faith, gross negligence or malice on the
part of the defendant
3. Nominal - “stand alone” award of damages
4. Temperate - award of damage sustained cannot be determined with reasonable certainty;
Ramos vs CA; medical malpractice
5. Actual/compensatory damages - plaintiff has to prove his cause of action; General rule: the
stipulated interest in the contract shall be the basis of computation Exception: in cases where
the source of an obligation is not a contract
6. Liquidated - specific amount stipulated with regard to damage