Wg&A Shipping Lines v. Spouses Luis

Summary

This case involves the tragic death of 17-year-old Rizzie Gay Asuncion who was raped and murdered while traveling as a passenger on WG&A Shipping Lines' M/V Super Ferry 1 from Manila to Zamboanga City in February 2003. When Rizzie failed to disembark at her destination, her family requested to search the vessel but were repeatedly denied access by WG&A personnel who claimed she had already disembarked. Her body was later found in Cotabato City. The Supreme Court affirmed WG&A's liability for breach of contract of carriage, finding the company failed to exercise the extraordinary diligence required of common carriers. The Court identified multiple badges of negligence and increased the damage awards to P3,000,000 each for moral and exemplary damages, emphasizing that common carriers have a continuing duty to investigate passenger disappearances and cannot escape liability through indifference and lack of cooperation. The case establishes important precedent regarding common carriers' duties toward vulnerable passengers and their obligations when incidents occur during transport.