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Lara vs. Valencia

A Bureau of Forestry inspector fell off the back of a pick-up truck and later died. The inspector's family sued the truck owner for damages, claiming his death was caused by the owner's negligence. The court found that as an invited guest, the truck owner only owed a duty of reasonable care to transport the inspector safely. There was no evidence that the owner failed to take necessary precautions. Additionally, the inspector chose to sit in the open back of the truck in a crouching position while half-asleep. Therefore, the court ruled the owner was not liable since the accident was attributed to the inspector's lack of care rather than any failure by the owner.

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Beverlyn Jamison
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129 views1 page

Lara vs. Valencia

A Bureau of Forestry inspector fell off the back of a pick-up truck and later died. The inspector's family sued the truck owner for damages, claiming his death was caused by the owner's negligence. The court found that as an invited guest, the truck owner only owed a duty of reasonable care to transport the inspector safely. There was no evidence that the owner failed to take necessary precautions. Additionally, the inspector chose to sit in the open back of the truck in a crouching position while half-asleep. Therefore, the court ruled the owner was not liable since the accident was attributed to the inspector's lack of care rather than any failure by the owner.

Uploaded by

Beverlyn Jamison
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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LOURDES J. LARA, ET AL., plaintiffs-appellants, vs. BRIGIDO R. VALENCIA, defendant-appellant.

G.R. No. L-9907


June 30, 1958

Nature:
This is an action for damages brought by plaintiffs against defendant in the Court of First Instance of Davao for the
death of one Demetrio Lara, Sr. allegedly caused by the negligent act of defendant. Defendant denied the charge of
negligence and set up certain affirmative defenses and a counterclaim.

Facts:
The deceased was an inspector of the Bureau of Forestry in Davao who went to classify logs with defendant in his
Cotabato concession. Lara got sick of malaria. He asked defendant if he could take him in pick-up back to Davao.
Lara sat at the back of the vehicle on a bag. Lara fell off and later died. CFI rendered judgment ordering defendant
to pay damages.

Issue:
Whether or not defendant, as owner of the truck, liable to the death of Lara when the later fell off his vehicle.

Held:
As accommodation passenger or invited guests, defendant as owner and driver of the pick-up truck owes them
merely the duty to exercise reasonable care so that they may be transported safely to their destination. Thus, the
rule is established by the weight of authority that the owner or operator of an automobile owes the duty to an invited
guest to exercise reasonable care and injury by increasing the hazards of travels. The rule is that n owner of an
automobile owes a guest the duty to exercise ordinary or reasonable care to avoid injuring him. Since one riding in
an automobile is no less a guest because he asked for the privilege of doing so, the same obligation of care is
imposed upon the driver as in case of one expressing invitation to ride. The extraordinary diligence required of
common carriers is not required.
In the case at bar, declared himself chose the place where he would sit and he was half-asleep when the accident
took place so that the incident is attributed to his lack of care considering that the pick-up was open and he was then
in a crouching position. On the other hand, there is no showing that the defendant failed to take the precautions
necessary to conduct his passengers safely to this place of destination. Defendant therefore is not liable for
damages.

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