Lhuillier vs. British Airways
Lhuillier vs. British Airways
Lhuillier vs. British Airways
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November 9,
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* SECOND DIVISION.
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DEL CASTILLO, J.:
Jurisdictio est potestas de publico introducta cum
necessitate juris dicendi. Jurisdiction is a power introduced
for the public good, on account of the necessity of
dispensing justice.1
Factual Antecedents
On April 28, 2005, petitioner Edna Diago Lhuillier filed
a Complaint2 for damages against respondent British
Airways before the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Makati
City. She alleged that on February 28, 2005, she took
respondentÊs flight 548 from London, United Kingdom to
Rome, Italy. Once on board, she allegedly requested Julian
Halliday (Halliday), one of the respondentÊs flight
attendants, to assist her in placing her hand-carried
luggage in the overhead bin. However, Halliday allegedly
refused to help and assist her, and even sarcastically
remarked that „If I were to help all 300 passengers in this
flight, I would have a broken back!‰
Petitioner further alleged that when the plane was
about to land in Rome, Italy, another flight attendant,
Nickolas Kerrigan (Kerrigan), singled her out from among
all the passengers in the business class section to lecture
on plane safety. Allegedly, Kerrigan made her appear to the
other passengers to be ignorant, uneducated, stupid, and in
need of lecturing on the safety rules and regulations of the
plane. Affronted, petitioner assured Kerrigan that she
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1 50 C.J.S. 1089.
2 Records, pp. 1-5.
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3 Id., at p. 11.
4 Id., at pp. 12-16.
5 Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules Relating To
International Transportation by Air, signed at Warsaw on October 12,
1929.
6 Records, p. 8.
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7 Id., at p. 21
8 Id., at pp. 25-27.
9 Id., at pp. 37-41.
10 Id., at pp. 56-57; penned by Judge Rommel O. Baybay. Emphasis in the
original text.
386
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Issues
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11 Id., at p. 75.
387
PetitionerÊs Arguments
Petitioner argues that her cause of action arose not from
the contract of carriage, but from the tortious conduct
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citizens thereof.‰
The Convention is thus a treaty commitment voluntarily
assumed by the Philippine government and, as such, has the force
and effect of law in this country.‰13
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14 Mapa v. Court of Appeals, 341 Phil. 281, 295; 275 SCRA 286, 298
(1997).
15 Rollo, pp. 155-157.
16 The United Kingdom signed the Warsaw Convention on October 12,
1929 and ratified the same on February 14, 1933. The Convention
became effective in the United Kingdom on March 15, 1933.
17 Italy signed the Warsaw Convention on October 12, 1929 and
ratified the same on February 14, 1933. The Convention became effective
in Italy on May 15, 1933.
390
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or
4. the court of the place of destination.
In this case, it is not disputed that respondent is a
British corporation domiciled in London, United Kingdom
with London as its principal place of business. Hence,
under the first and second jurisdictional rules, the
petitioner may bring her case before the courts of London
in the United Kingdom. In the passenger ticket and
baggage check presented by both the petitioner and
respondent, it appears that the ticket was issued in Rome,
Italy. Consequently, under the third jurisdictional rule, the
petitioner has the option to bring her case before the courts
of Rome in Italy. Finally, both the petitioner and
respondent aver that the place of destination is Rome,
Italy, which is properly designated given the routing
presented in the said passenger ticket and baggage check.
Accordingly, petitioner may bring her action before the
courts of Rome, Italy. We thus find that the RTC of Makati
correctly ruled that it does not have jurisdiction over the
case filed by the petitioner.
Santos III v. Northwest Orient
Airlines18 applies in this case.
Petitioner contends that Santos III v. Northwest Orient
Airlines19 cited by the trial court is inapplicable to the
present controversy since the facts thereof are not similar
with the instant case.
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20 Id.
21 In said case, we distinguished between a „destination‰ and an
„agreed stopping place.‰ We held that:
Article 1(2) also draws a distinction between a „destination‰ and an
„agreed stopping place.‰ It is the „destination‰ and not an „agreed
stopping place‰ that controls for purposes of ascertaining jurisdiction
under the Convention.
The contract is a single undivided operation, beginning with the place
of departure and ending with the ultimate destination. The use of the
singular in the expression indicates the understanding of the parties to
the Convention that every contract of carriage has one place of departure
and one place of destination. An intermediate place where the carriage
may be broken is not regarded as a „place of destination.‰ Id., at pp. 270-
271.
392
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26 Id., at p. 174.
27 Id., at pp. 155-157.
28 Article 2176. Whoever by act or omission causes damage to
another, there being fault or negligence, is obliged to pay for the damage
done. Such fault or negligence, if there is no pre-existing contractual
relation between the parties, is called a quasi-delict and is governed by
provisions of this Chapter.
29 Article 19. Every person must, in the exercise of his rights and in
the performance of his duties, act with justice, give everyone his due and
observe honesty and good faith.
30 Article 21. Any person, who willfully causes loss or injury to
another in a manner that is contrary to morals, good customs or public
policy shall compensate the latter for the damage.
31 Supra note 12.
32 Id.
33 Id.
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37 Id., at p. 162.
38 BlackÊs Law Dictionary, 6th ed., 1990.
39 Supra note 12.
40 255 F.3d 1044.
395
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is/was Euro-
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41 Id.
42 36 Fed. Appx. 278, 2002 WL 1136727 (C.A. 9).
43 Id.
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44 Rollo, p. 169.
45 G.R. No. 103200, August 31, 1994, 236 SCRA 78.
46 Id., at p. 89.
47 G.R. No. 170122, October 12, 2009; 603 SCRA 348.
48 Supra.
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