Limitaciones en la capacidad de adaptación:

between actual and temperate damages.

Citytrust Bank vs. IAC: Temperate damages are

incompatible with nominal damages hence, cannot be granted concurrently.

Pleno vs. CA: Temperate damages are included

within the context of compensatory damages (RCPI

vs. CA).

There are cases where from the nature of the case,

definite proof of pecuniary loss cannot be offered, although the court is convinced that there has been such loss. For instance, injury to one's commercial

credit or to the goodwill of a business firm is often hard to show certainty in terms of money. (NOTE: In

this case actual and temperate damages were awarded. It is postulated that the actual damages is for the car while the temperate damages is for the lost actual income not sufficiently proved.)

Liquidated Damages

Art. 2226. Liquidated damages are those agreed

upon by the parties to a contract, to be paid in case of breach thereof.

Art. 2227. Liquidated damages, whether intended as

an indemnity or a penalty, shall be equitably reduced if they are iniquitous or unconscionable.

Liquidated damages are those damages agreed upon by the parties to a contract to be paid in case of breach thereof.

It differs from a penal clause in that in the latter case the amount agreed to be paid may bear no relation to the probable damages resulting from the breach. Basically, a penalty is “ad terrorem,” while liquidated damages are “ad reparationem.”

REQUISITES AND CHARACTERISTICS

(1) Liquidated damages must be validly stipulated. (2) There is no need to prove the amount of actual

damages.

(3) Breach of the principal contract must be proved. RULES GOVERNING BREACH OF CONTRACT

Art. 2228. When the breach of the contract

committed by the defendant is not the one contemplated by the parties in agreeing upon the liquidated damages, the law shall determine the measure of damages, and not the stipulation. (a) These damages are agreed upon in a contract in

case of breach thereof.

(b) There is no need to prove the amount, only the fact of the breach.

(c) The amount can be reduced if:

(1) unconscionable as determined by the court (2) partial or irregular performance.

General Rule: The penalty shall substitute the indemnity for damages and the payment of the interests in case or breach.

Exceptions

(1) When there is a stipulation to the contrary. (2) When the obligor is sued for refusal to pay the

agreed penalty.

(3) When the obligor is guilty of fraud.

Exemplary Or Corrective

Damages

Art. 2229. 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 common law, these damages were termed “punitive.”

PNB vs. CA: However, the award of P1,000,000

exemplary damages is also far too excessive and should likewise be reduced to an equitable level. Exemplary damages are imposed not to enrich one party or impoverish another but to serve as a deterrent against or as a negative incentive to curb socially deleterious actions.

WHEN RECOVERABLE

IN CRIMINAL OFFENSES; NCC ART. 2230

Art. 2230. In criminal offenses, exemplary damages

as a part of the civil liability may be imposed when the crime was committed with one or more aggravating circumstances. Such damages are separate and distinct from fines and shall be paid to the offended party.

Award of exemplary damages is part of the civil liability, not of the penalty.

Damages are paid to the offended party separately from the fines.

IN QUASI-DELICTS; NCC ART. 2231

Art. 2231. In quasi-delicts, exemplary damages may

be granted if the defendant acted with gross negligence.

IN CONTRACTS AND QUASI-CONTRACTS; NCC ART. 2232

Art. 2232. In contracts and quasi-contracts, the court

may award exemplary damages if the defendant acted in a wanton, fraudulent, reckless, oppressive, or malevolent manner.

REQUISITES ARTS. 2233, 2234

Art. 2233. Exemplary damages cannot be recovered

as a matter of right; the court will decide whether or not they should be adjudicated.

Art. 2234. While the amount of the exemplary

damages need not be proved, 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. In case liquidated damages have been agreed upon, although no proof of loss is necessary in order that such liquidated damages may be recovered, nevertheless, before the court may consider the question of granting exemplary in addition to the liquidated damages, the

plaintiff must show that he would be entitled to moral, temperate or compensatory damages were it not for the stipulation for liquidated damages.

Art. 2235. A stipulation whereby exemplary damages

are renounced in advance shall be null and void. Requisites to recover exemplary damages and liquidated damages agreed upon

The plaintiff must show that he/she is entitled to moral, temperate or compensatory damages:

If arising from When _{damages are granted} exemplary Art.

2230 Crimes

the crime was

committed with an aggravating

circumstance/s Art.

2231 Quasi-delicts defendant acted with gross negligence Art.

2232 Contracts Quasi- contracts and

defendant acted in a wanton, fraudulent, reckless, oppressive, or malevolent manner (WFROMM) General Principles

(1) Exemplary damages cannot be awarded alone: they must be awarded IN ADDITION to moral, temperate, liquidated or compensatory damages.

(2) The purpose of the award is to deter the defendant (and others in a similar condition) from a repetition of the acts for which exemplary damages were awarded; hence, they are not

recoverable as a matter of right.

(3) The defendant must be guilty of other malice or else negligence above the ordinary.

(4) Plaintiff is not required to prove the amount of exemplary damages.

a. But plaintiff must show that he is entitled to moral, temperate, or compensatory damage; that is, substantial damages, not purely nominal ones. This requirement applies even if the contract stipulates liquidated damages.

b. The amount of exemplary damage need not be pleaded in the complaint because the same cannot be proved. It is merely incidental or dependent upon what the court may award as compensatory damages.

DAMAGES IN CASE OF DEATH RE. CRIMES AND QUASI-DELICTS

Art. 2206. The amount of damages for death caused

by a crime or quasi-delict shall be at least three thousand pesos, even though there may have been mitigating circumstances. In addition:

(1) The defendant shall be liable for the loss of the earning capacity of the deceased, and the indemnity shall be paid to the heirs of the latter; such indemnity shall in every case be assessed and awarded by the court, unless the deceased on account of permanent physical disability not caused by the defendant, had no earning capacity at the time of his death;

(2) If the deceased was obliged to give support according to the provisions of article 291, the recipient who is not an heir called to the decedent's inheritance by the law of testate or intestate succession, may demand support from the person causing the death, for a period not exceeding five years, the exact duration to be fixed by the court;

(3) The spouse, legitimate and illegitimate descendants and ascendants of the deceased may demand moral damages for mental anguish by reason of the death of the deceased. In death caused by breach of conduct by a common crime

Heirs of Raymundo Castro vs. Bustos (1969): when

death occurs as a result of a crime, the heirs of the deceased are entitled to the following items of damages:

(1) As indemnity for the death of the victim of the offense — P12,000.00, without the need of any evidence or proof of damages, and even though there may have been mitigating circumstances attending the commission of the offense. (2) As indemnity for loss of earning capacity of the

deceased — an amount to be fixed by the Court according to the circumstances of the deceased related to his actual income at the time of death and his probable life expectancy, the said indemnity to be assessed and awarded by the court as a matter of duty, unless the deceased had no earning capacity at said time on account of permanent disability not caused by the accused. If the deceased was obliged to give support, under Art. 291, Civil Code, the recipient who is not an heir, may demand support from the accused for not more than five years, the exact duration to be fixed by the court.

(3) As moral damages for mental anguish, — an amount to be fixed by the court. This may be recovered even by the illegitimate descendants and ascendants of the deceased.

(4) As exemplary damages, when the crime is attended by one or more aggravating circumstances, — an amount to be fixed in the discretion of the court, the same to be considered separate from fines.

(5) As attorney's fees and expresses of litigation, — the actual amount thereof, (but only when a separate civil action to recover civil liability has been filed or when exemplary damages are awarded).

(6) Interests in the proper cases.

(7) It must be emphasized that the indemnities for loss of earning capacity of the deceased and for moral damages are recoverable separately from and in addition to the fixed sum of P12,000.00 corresponding to the indemnity for the sole fact of death, and that these damages may, however, be respectively increased or lessened according to the mitigating or aggravating circumstances, except items 1 and 4 above, for obvious reasons. Formula for the net earning capacity

People vs. Aringue (1997):

Net earning capacity = Life expectancy * (Gross annual income – Reasonable living expenses) Where:

Life expectancy = 2/3 * (80 – age of victim at the time of death)

Tan, et al. vs. OMC Carriers, Inc. (2011): As a rule,

documentary evidence should be presented to substantiate the claim for loss of earning capacity. By way of exception, damages for loss of earning capacity may be awarded despite the absence of documentary evidence when: (1) the deceased is self- employed and earning less than the minimum wage under current labor laws, in which case, judicial notice may be taken of the fact that in the deceased's line of work, no documentary evidence is available; or (2) the deceased is employed as a daily wage worker earning less than the minimum wage under current labor laws.

Graduation of Damages