TITLE: G.R. No.

L-19495 February 2, 1924

HONORIO LASAM, ET AL. vs. FRANK SMITH, JR
Palma and Leuterio for plaintiffs-appellants. Mariano Alisangco for defendant-appellant.
DOCTRINE: The Spanish authorities use the term "caso fortuito" to describe events that cannot be foreseen and which, having been foreseen,
are inevitable. The antecedent to article 1105 is found in Law 11, Title 33, Partida 7, which defines caso fortuito as "an event that takes place by
accident and could not have been foreseen." Escriche defines caso fortuito as an unexpected event or act of God that could either be foreseen nor
resisted, such as floods, torrents, shipwrecks, conflagrations, lightning, compulsion, insurrections, destructions, destruction of buildings by
unforseen accidents and other occurrences of a similar nature
FACTS: On February 27, 1918, FRANK SMITH, JR, owner of a public garage in the town of San Fernando, La Union, and engaged in the
business of carrying passengers for hire from the one point to another in the Province of La Union and the surrounding provinces, undertook to
convey Palma and Leuterio from San Fernando to Currimao, Ilocos Norte, in a Ford automobile. On leaving San Fernando, the automobile was
operated by a licensed chauffeur, but after having reached the town of San Juan, the chauffeur allowed his assistant, Remigio Bueno, to drive the
car. Bueno held no driver's license, but had some experience in driving, and with the exception of some slight engine trouble while passing
through the town of Luna, the car functioned well until after the crossing of the Abra River in Tagudin, when, according to the testimony of the
witnesses for the plaintiffs, defects developed in the steering gear so as to make accurate steering impossible, and after zigzagging for a distance
of about half a kilometer, the car left the road and went down a steep embankment.
The defendant claims there was no steering gear defect before or after an accident, and that the car's swaying was due to excessive speed. The
accident was caused by negligence on the part of the defendant's employees or defects in the automobile. The plaintiffs were pinned down under
the car, and Mr. Lasam escaped with contusions and a dislocated rib. His wife, Joaquina Sanchez, suffered serious injuries, including a compound
fracture of one bone in her left wrist. The complaint was filed about a year and a half after the incident, alleging defects in the automobile and the
chauffeur's negligence. The trial court held that the cause of action rests on the defendant's breach of the contract of carriage, and that articles
1101-1107 of the Civil Code apply. The court found that the breach was not due to fortuitous events, making the defendant liable in damages.
ISSUE: W/N the trial court is correct in its decision that the cause of action rests on the defendant's breach of the contract of carriage
RULING: YES. It is sufficient to reiterate that the source of the defendant's legal liability is the contract of carriage; that by entering into that
contract he bound himself to carry the plaintiffs safely and securely to their destination; and that having failed to do so he is liable in damages
unless he shows that the failure to fulfill his obligation was due to causes mentioned in article 1105 of the Civil Code:
No one shall be liable for events which could not be foreseen or which, even if foreseen, were inevitable, with the exception of the
cases in which the law expressly provides otherwise and those in which the obligation itself imposes such liability.
In a legal sense and contract relation, a caso fortuito must have essential characteristics: (1) the cause of the unforeseen and unexpected
occurrence must be independent of the human will; (2) it must be impossible to foresee or avoid; (3) the occurrence must render it impossible for
the debtor to fulfill his obligation in a normal manner; and (4) the obligor must be free from any participation in the aggravation of the injury
resulting to the creditor. Turning to the present case, it is at once apparent that this element is lacking. It is not suggested that the accident in
question was due to an act of God or to adverse road conditions which could not have been foreseen. As far as the records shows, the accident
was caused either by defects in the automobile or else through the negligence of its driver. That is not a caso fortuito.
Alba vs. Sociedad Anonima de Tranvias ,the case cited by the defendant is not applicable in the present case. Here the passengers had no means
of avoiding the danger or escaping the injury.