Rosendo C. Carticiano v. Mario Nuval

Summary

This case involves vicarious liability for a vehicular accident. Zacarias Carticiano was injured when his father's car collided with a jeep owned by Mario Nuval but driven by his employee Darwin, who veered into Carticiano's lane and fled. The Supreme Court reversed the Court of Appeals and held Nuval vicariously liable under Article 2180 of the Civil Code. The Court found that Darwin was indeed Nuval's employee at the time of the accident, rejecting Nuval's defense that Darwin had stolen the vehicle. The Court emphasized that once a driver is hired to drive an employer's vehicle, the employer is liable for the driver's negligent acts without need to prove additional circumstances like passengers being aboard. The decision reinforced the principle that employers cannot escape liability through convenient defenses, and that the burden shifts to employers to prove due diligence once employee negligence is established.