Conrado Aguilar, Sr. v. Commercial Savings Bank

Summary

Petitioner's son died in a vehicular accident caused by a car registered to Commercial Savings Bank but driven by Ferdinand Borja, the bank's employee. The trial court held both defendants liable, but the Court of Appeals dismissed the case against the bank finding no proof Borja was acting in official capacity. The Supreme Court reversed, establishing that registered owners of vehicles are primarily liable for damages to third persons regardless of the actual driver's relationship to the owner. This landmark ruling reinforced the policy that vehicle registration serves to fix responsibility on identifiable persons to protect accident victims, preventing registered owners from escaping liability by proving they are not the actual owners.