Perla v Cayas 185 SCRA 741 May 28, 1990

J. Fernan

Facts:

Milagros Cayas was the registered owner of a Mazda bus, insured with Perla Compania de Seguros, Inc. (PCSI) under a policy issued on February 3, 1978. The bus encountered an accident. One victim sued while the others entered into a settlement. He won P32,000.

Cayas filed a complaint for a sum of money and damages against PCSI in the Court of First Instance of Cavite. The court eventually dismissed. She filed an MFR. She filed a motion to declare PCSI in default for its failure to file an answer.

The court ordered ordering PCSI to pay Cayas P50,000 as compensation.

PCSI appealed to the Court of Appeals, which affirmed the lower court's decision.

Its motion for reconsideration having been denied, PCSI filed this petition

Issue:

WON PCSI’s liability is limited only to the payment made by private respondent to the victim and only up to the amount of P12,000.00.

Held: Yes. Petition dismissed.

Ratio:

The insurance policy involved explicitly limits petitioner's liability to P12,000.00 per person and to P50,000.00 per accident.

Stokes vs. Malayan- terms of the contract constitute the measure of the insurer's liability and compliance is a condition precedent to the insured's right of recovery from the insurer.

The insurance policy placed liability for all damages arising out of death or bodily injury sustained by one person as a result of any one accident at P12,000.00.

Section 377 of Presidential Decree No. 612, which provided that the liability of land transportation vehicle operators for bodily injuries sustained by a passenger arising out of the use of their vehicles shall not be less than P12,000.

Minimum liability is P12,000 per passenger. Not contrary to law, morals, good customs, public order or public policy, said stipulation must be upheld as effective, valid and binding as between the parties.

In like manner, we rule as valid and binding upon private respondent the condition requiring her to secure the written permission of petitioner before effecting any payment in settlement of any claim against her. This was designed to safeguard the insurer's interest against collusion between the insured and the claimants.

It being specifically required that petitioner's written consent be first secured before any payment in settlement of any claim could be made. Cayas is precluded from seeking reimbursement of the payments made to the three other passangers in view of her failure to comply with the condition contained in the insurance policy.

Clearly, the fundamental principle that contracts are respected as the law between the contracting parties finds application in the present case.

In Phil. American General Insurance Co., Inc vs. Mutuc, we ruled that contracts which are the private laws of the contracting parties should be fulfilled according to the literal sense of their stipulations, if their terms are clear and leave no room for doubt as to the intention of the contracting parties, for contracts are obligatory, no matter what form they may be, whenever the essential requisites for their validity are present.

Although Milagros Cayas was able to prove a total loss of only P44,000.00, petitioner was made liable for the amount of P50,000.00, the maximum liability. This was wrong. An insurance indemnity, being merely an assistance or restitution insofar as can be fairly ascertained, cannot be availed of by any accident victim or claimant as an instrument of enrichment.