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JARCO MARKETING CORPORATION v. CA

FACTS:

In the afternoon of May 9, 1983, Criselda and her daughter Zhieneth were at the 2nd floor of Syvel's Department Store in Makati City. While Criselda was at the payment and verification counter, Zhieneth suddenly fell to the floor, with the store's gift-wrapping counter/structure pinning her down. Zhieneth was quickly brought to the hospital but eventually died due to the injuries she sustained. Private respondents, the parents of Zhieneth, demanded reimbursement for the expenses they incurred, but petitioners refused to pay. Private respondents then filed a complaint for damages against petitioners. The trial court dismissed the complaint, finding that Zhieneth's act of clinging to the counter was the proximate cause of her fall, and that there was contributory negligence on the part of Criselda. Private respondents appealed the decision, contesting the court's findings and asserting that Zhieneth should be presumed incapable of contributory negligence.

The case involves an incident wherein a counter fell on a six-year-old child named ZHIENETH while she was in the Makati Medical Center. The incident resulted in her death. ZHIENETH's mother, CRISELDA, was with her at the time and was signing a credit card slip when the counter fell.

The employees of the medical center testified that ZHIENETH did not climb the counter and that she claimed "nothing, I did not come near the counter and the counter just fell on me" when asked by the doctor. CRISELDA was not negligent as it was reasonable for her to let go of ZHIENETH while signing the document.

The private respondents argued that the counter was structurally dangerous and it should have been permanently nailed to the ground. They claimed that the incident could have been avoided if the petitioners had repaired the defective counter. Two former employees had already warned the management about the counter's danger, but they were ignored.

The Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the private respondents, finding the petitioners negligent in maintaining a structurally defective and dangerous counter. It held that ZHIENETH, being below seven years old, was not capable of negligence. The court also rejected the testimonies of the witnesses presented by the petitioners and awarded compensatory damages and reimbursement for hospitalization expenses to the private respondents.

ISSUES:

  1. Whether the death of Zhieneth Aguilar was accidental or attributable to negligence.

  2. If attributable to negligence, whether such negligence was on the part of the petitioners (Jarco Marketing Corporation and its employees) or on the part of Criselda Aguilar and Zhieneth Aguilar.

RULING:

  1. The death of Zhieneth was attributable to negligence.

    • The Supreme Court found that Zhieneth's death was not an accident but was due to the negligence of the petitioners in maintaining an unstable counter.

  2. The negligence was on the part of the petitioners.

    • The Court held that the petitioners were negligent in failing to secure or make stable the gift-wrapping counter despite being informed of its dangerous condition by their employees.

    • Zhieneth Aguilar, being a child under nine years of age, was conclusively presumed incapable of contributory negligence.

    • Criselda Aguilar was absolved from any contributory negligence as it was reasonable for her to momentarily release her child's hand while signing a credit card slip.

PRINCIPLES:

  1. Negligence

    • Negligence is the omission to do something which a reasonable man, guided by those considerations which ordinarily regulate the conduct of human affairs, would do, or the doing of something which a prudent and reasonable man would not do.

  2. Proximate Cause

    • The proximate cause of the incident was the negligence of the petitioners in maintaining a structurally unsupported counter.

  3. Contributory Negligence of Minors

    • A child below nine years of age is conclusively presumed to be incapable of contributory negligence.

  4. Res Gestae

    • Statements made under the influence of a startling event before the declarant had the time to think and concoct a falsehood are admissible as part of the res gestae.

  5. Due Diligence

    • Petitioners must observe due diligence and ordinary care to ensure the safety of their premises and the people frequenting them.

  6. Credibility of Witnesses

    • The trial court's appreciation of the credibility of witnesses is generally upheld unless there is a clear oversight or arbitrariness in its findings.