MARGARITA AFIALDA v. BASILIO HISOLE and FRANCISCO HISOLE,
G.R. No. L-2075, November 29, 1949
FACTS: This is an action for damages arising from injury caused by an
animal. The complaint alleges that the now deceased, Loreto Afialda, was
employed by the defendant spouses as caretaker of their carabaos at a fixed
compensation; that while tending the animals he was, on March 21, 1947, gored
by one of them and later died as a consequence of his injuries; that the mishap
was due neither to his own fault nor to force majeure; and that plaintiff is
his elder sister and heir depending upon him for support.Plaintiff seeks to
hold defendants liable under article 1905 of the Civil Code, which reads:
The possessor of an animal, or the
one who uses the same, is liable for any damages it may cause, even if such
animal should escape from him or stray away.
This liability shall cease only in
case, the damage should arise from force majeure or from the fault of the
person who may have suffered it.
ISSUES: Whether or not the owner of the animal is liable when damage is
caused to its caretaker.
HELD: The statute names the possessor or user of the animal as the
person liable for "any damages it may cause," and this for the
obvious reason that the possessor or user has the custody and control of the
animal and is therefore the one in a position to prevent it from causing
damage.
In
the present case, the animal was in custody and under the control of the
caretaker, who was paid for his work as such. Obviously, it was the caretaker's
business to try to prevent the animal from causing injury or damage to anyone,
including himself. And being injured by the animal under those circumstances
was one of the risks of the occupation which he had voluntarily assumed and for
which he must take the consequences.
