DAMAGES
Atty. Misheena Joyce C. Tiatco
14 February 2020
Types of damages under the Civil Code
1. Actual or compensatory
2. Moral
3. Nominal
4. Temperate or Moderate
5. Liquidated
6. Exemplary or corrective
Actual or Compensatory Damages
Value of the loss suffered
Profits which the obligee failed to obtain
Must be proven in court
In contracts and quasi-contracts, the obligor who
acted in good faith shall be liable for those that
are the natural and probable consequences of the
breach of the obligation and for those which the
parties have foreseen or could have been
reasonably foreseen.
In crimes and quasi-delicts, the defendants shall
be liable for all damages which are the natural
and probable consequences of the act or
omission complained of. It is not necessary
that such damages have been foreseen or
could have reasonably been foreseen by the
defendant.
Damages may be recovered
1.) for loss or impairment of earning capacity
in cases of temporary or permanent
personal injury;
2.) for injury to the plaintiff’s business
standing or commercial credit.
Attorney’s Fees and Expenses of Litigation cannot be
recovered, EXCEPT:
1. When agreed by the parties in writing
2. When exemplary damages are awarded
3. When defendant’s act or omission has compelled the
plaintiff to litigate with third persons or to incur
expenses to protect his interest
4. In criminal cases of malicious prosecution against
the plaintiff
5. In case of a clearly unfounded civil action or
proceeding against the plaintiff
6. Where the defendant acted in gross and evident bad faith
in refusing to satisfy the plaintiff’s plainly valid, just and
demandable claim;
7. In actions for legal support;
8. In actions for the recovery of wages of household
helpers, laborers and skilled workers;
9. In actions for indemnity under workmen’s compensation
and employer’s liability laws;
10. In a separate civil action to recover civil liability
arising from crime.
11. When at least double judicial costs are awarded.
12. In any other case where the court deems it just and
equitable that attorney’s fees and expenses of litigation
should be recovered.
Moral Damages
Physical suffering, mental anguish, fright,
serious anxiety, besmirched reputation,
wounded feelings, moral shock, social
humiliation, and similar injury.
May be recovered, though incapable of
pecuniary estimation, if they are the
proximate result of the defendant’s
wrongful act or omission.
Cases where moral damages can be recovered
1. A criminal offense resulting in physical injuries;
2. Quasi-delicts causing physical injuries;
3. Seduction, abduction, rape, or other lascivious
acts;
4. Adultery or concubinage;
5. Illegal or arbitrary detention or arrest;
6. Illegal search;
7. Libel, slander, or any other form of defamation;
8. Malicious prosecution
Nominal Damages
are adjudicated in order that a right of the
plaintiff, which has been violated or invaded
by the defendant, may be vindicated or
recognized, and not for the purpose of
indemnifying the plaintiff for any loss
suffered by him.
Cannot co-exist with actual/compensatory
damages.
Temperate or Moderate Damages
More than nominal but less than
compensatory damages.
May be recovered when the court finds
that some pecuniary loss has been suffered
but its amount cannot, from the nature of
the case, be proved with certainty.
Liquidated Damages
those that are agreed upon by the
parties to a contract, to be paid in
case of breach thereof.
Whether intended as an indemnity or
a penalty, liquidated damages shall
be equitably reduced if they are
iniquitous or unconscionable.
Exemplary or Corrective Damages
are imposed, by way of example or correction for
the public good, in addition to the moral,
temperate, liquidated or compensatory damages.
In quasi-delicts, exemplary damages may be
granted if the defendant acted with gross
negligence.
In contracts and quasi-contracts, the court may
award exemplary damages if the defendant acted
in a wanton, fraudulent, reckless, oppressive, or
malevolent manner.
Exemplary damages cannot be recovered as a
matter of right.
The court will decide whether or not they should
be adjudicated.
Need not be proved.
But the plaintiff must show that he is entitled to
moral, temperate, or compensatory damages before
the court may consider the question of whether or
not exemplary damages should be awarded.
PSI vs. Agana
1. As actual damages, the following amounts:
a. The equivalent in Philippine Currency of the total of
US$19,900.00 at the rate of P21.60-US$1.00, as
reimbursement of actual expenses incurred in the
United States of America;
b. The sum of P4,800.00 as travel taxes of plaintiffs
and their physician daughter;
c. The total sum of P45,802.50, representing the cost of
hospitalization at Polymedic Hospital, medical fees,
and cost of the saline solution;
PSI vs. Agana
2. As moral damages, the sum of
P2,000,000.00;
3. As exemplary damages, the sum of
P300,000.00;
4. As attorney’s fees, the sum of P250,000.00;
5. Legal interest on items 1 (a), (b), and (c);
2; and 3 hereinabove, from date of filing of
the complaint until full payment; and
6. Costs of suit.
Damages awarded by RTC in Ramos vs. CA:
1) the sum of P8,000.00 as actual monthly expenses for
the plaintiff Erlinda Ramos reckoned from November
15, 1985 or in the total sum of P632,000.00 as of April
15, 1992, subject to its being updated;
2) the sum of P100,000.00 as reasonable attorney's fees;
3) the sum of P800,000.00 by way of moral damages
and the further sum of P200,000,00 by way of
exemplary damages; and,
4) the costs of the suit.
Modifications made by the Supreme Court:
1) P1,352,000.00 as actual damages computed as of
the date of promulgation of this decision plus a
monthly payment of P8,000.00 up to the time that
petitioner Erlinda Ramos expires or miraculously
survives;
2) P2,000,000.00 as moral damages,
3) P1,500,000.00 as temperate damages;
4) P100,000.00 each as exemplary damages and
attorney's fees; and,
5) the costs of the suit.
Justification on award of temperate damages.
Temperate damages should be awarded on
top of actual or compensatory damages in
instances where the injury is chronic and
continuing.
End.
