WHEREFORE, premises considered, judgment is hereby rendered in favor of the plaintiffs and against the defendant ordering the defendants to pay the plaintiff the following:1) The amount of P350,000.00 by way of actual damages;
2) The amount of P250,000.00 for and as moral damages;
3) The amount of P100,000.00 as exemplary damages;
4) The amount of P100,000.00 for and as attorney's fees.
With costs against the defendant.
SO ORDERED.3
Upon receiving your comments on our service rendered during your reception here with us, we are in fact, very distressed. Right from minor issues pappadums served in the soup instead of the creutons, lack of valet parkers, hard rolls being too hard till a major one - slow service, rude and arrogant waiters, we have disappointed you in all means.
Indeed, we feel as strongly as you do that the services you received were unacceptable and definitely not up to our standards. We understand that it is our job to provide excellent service and in this instance, we have fallen short of your expectations. We ask you please to accept our profound apologies for causing such discomfort and annoyance. 4 (underscoring supplied)
x x x Hence, the alleged damage or injury brought about by the confusion, inconvenience and disarray during the wedding reception may not be attributed to defendant-appellant Shangri-la.
We find that the said proximate cause, which is entirely attributable to plaintiffs-appellants, set the chain of events which resulted in the alleged inconveniences, to the plaintiffs-appellants. Given the circumstances that obtained, only the Sps. Guanio may bear whatever consequential damages that they may have allegedly suffered.7 (underscoring supplied)
The doctrine of proximate cause is applicable only in actions for quasi-delicts, not in actions involving breach of contract. x x x The doctrine is a device for imputing liability to a person where there is no relation between him and another party. In such a case, the obligation is created by law itself. But, where there is a pre-existing contractual relation between the parties, it is the parties themselves who create the obligation, and the function of the law is merely to regulate the relation thus created.8 (emphasis and underscoring supplied)
Art. 1170. Those who in the performance of their obligations are guilty of fraud, negligence or delay, and those who in any manner contravene the tenor thereof, are liable for damages.
In culpa contractual x x x the mere proof of the existence of the contract and the failure of its compliance justify, prima facie, a corresponding right of relief. The law, recognizing the obligatory force of contracts, will not permit a party to be set free from liability for any kind of misperformance of the contractual undertaking or a contravention of the tenor thereof. A breach upon the contract confers upon the injured party a valid cause for recovering that which may have been lost or suffered. The remedy serves to preserve the interests of the promissee that may include his "expectation interest," which is his interest in having the benefit of his bargain by being put in as good a position as he would have been in had the contract been performed, or his "reliance interest," which is his interest in being reimbursed for loss caused by reliance on the contract by being put in as good a position as he would have been in had the contract not been made; or his "restitution interest," which is his interest in having restored to him any benefit that he has conferred on the other party. Indeed, agreements can accomplish little, either for their makers or for society, unless they are made the basis for action. The effect of every infraction is to create a new duty, that is, to make RECOMPENSE to the one who has been injured by the failure of another to observe his contractual obligation unless he can show extenuating circumstances, like proof of his exercise of due diligence x x x or of the attendance of fortuitous event, to excuse him from his ensuing liability. (emphasis and underscoring in the original; capitalization supplied)
4.3 The ENGAGER shall be billed in accordance with the prescribed rate for the minimum guaranteed number of persons contracted for, regardless of under attendance or non-appearance of the expected number of guests, except where the ENGAGER cancels the Function in accordance with its Letter of Confirmation with the HOTEL. Should the attendance exceed the minimum guaranteed attendance, the ENGAGER shall also be billed at the actual rate per cover in excess of the minimum guaranteed attendance.x x x x
4.5. The ENGAGER must inform the HOTEL at least forty eight (48) hours before the scheduled date and time of the Function of any change in the minimum guaranteed covers. In the absence of such notice, paragraph 4.3 shall apply in the event of under attendance. In case the actual number of attendees exceed the minimum guaranteed numberby ten percent (10%), the HOTEL shall not in any way be held liable for any damage or inconvenience which may be caused thereby. The ENGAGER shall also undertake to advise the guests of the situation and take positive steps to remedy the same.10 (emphasis, italics and underscoring supplied)
Statements which are not estoppels nor judicial admissions have no quality of conclusiveness, and an opponent whose admissions have been offered against him may offer any evidence which serves as an explanation for his former assertion of what he now denies as a fact.
ATTY. CALMA: Q You mentioned that the letter indicates an acknowledgement of the concern and that there was-the first letter there was an acknowledgment of the concern and an apology, not necessarily indicating that such or admitting fault? A Yes. Q Is this the letter that you are referring to?If I may, Your Honor, that was the letter dated August 4, 2001, previously marked as plaintiff's exhibits, Your Honor. What is the procedure of the hotel with respect to customer concern?
A Upon receipt of the concern from the guest or client, we acknowledge receipt of such concern, and as part of procedure in service industry particularly Makati Shangri-la we apologize for whatever inconvenience but at the same time saying, that of course, we would go through certain investigation and get back to them for the feedback with whatever concern they may have. Q Your Honor, I just like at this point mark the exhibits, Your Honor, the letter dated August 4, 2001 identified by the witness, Your Honor, to be marked as Exhibit 14 and the signature of Mr. Krister Svensson be marked as Exhibit 14-A.13 x x x x Q In your opinion, you just mentioned that there is a procedure that the hotel follows with respect to the complaint, in your opinion was this procedure followed in this particular concern? A Yes, ma'am . Q What makes you say that this procedure was followed? A As I mentioned earlier, we proved that we did acknowledge the concern of the client in this case and we did emphatize from the client and apologized, and at the same time got back to them in whatever investigation we have. Q You said that you apologized, what did you apologize for? A Well, first of all it is a standard that we apologize, right? Being in the service industry, it is a practice that we apologize if there is any inconvenience, so the purpose for apologizing is mainly to show empathy and to ensure the client that we are hearing them out and that we will do a better investigation and it is not in any way that we are admitting any fault.14 (underscoring supplied)
Endnotes:
1 The Banquet and Meeting Services Contract dated July 26, 2001 was faxed to petitioners, while the Banquet Event Order was signed on July 25, 2001. As per RTC Decision, the final price for the menu was only finalized on July 27, 2001.
2 Rollo, pp. 159-161.
3 Id. at 407.
4 Id. at 141.
5 Id. at 405.
6 Penned by Associate Justice Apolinario D. Bruselas, Jr., with the concurrence of Associate Justices Andres B. Reyes, Jr. and Pampio A. Abarintos, id. at 8-26.
7 Id. at 20-21.
8 Calalas v. Court of Appeals, G.R. No. 122039, May 31, 2000, 332 SCRA 356, 357.
9 G.R. No. 164349, January 31, 2006, citing FGU Insurance Corporation v. G.P. Sarmiento Trucking Corporation, 435 Phil. 333, 341-342 (2002).
10 Vide Banquet and Meeting Services Contract, rollo, pp. 138-141, 140.
11 Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. v. Spouses Vazquez, G.R. No. 150843. March 14, 2003.
12 L-27782, July 31, 1970, 34 SCRA 337, 348.
13 TSN, March 16, 2005, pp. 21-23.
14 TSN, March 16, 2005, pp. 24-26.
15 Civil Code, Article 2222. The court may award nominal damages in every obligation arising from any source enumerated in Article 1157, or in every case where any property right has been invaded.
16 Id. at Article 26.