Gregorio Pestaño v. Spouses Teotimo Sumayang

Summary

This Supreme Court case involved a vehicular accident where a Metro Cebu bus driven by Gregorio Pestaño struck a motorcycle at a highway junction in Cebu, killing driver Ananias Sumayang and passenger Manuel Romagos. The victims' families sued for damages under quasi-delict provisions. The trial court and Court of Appeals found the driver negligent for attempting to overtake at a dangerous junction and held the bus company vicariously liable for failing to exercise proper supervision. The Supreme Court affirmed, emphasizing that factual findings on negligence are binding and that civil indemnity for death had increased to P50,000. The Court clarified that loss of earning capacity computations should use the deceased's life expectancy, not the heirs'. The case demonstrates employer liability under Article 2180 and the importance of extraordinary diligence required from public transportation operators.