EQUITABLE BANKING CORPORATION vs. CALDERON | GR. No. 156168 | December 14, 2004

EQUITABLE BANKING CORPORATION vs. CALDERON
GR. No. 156168, December 14, 2004 

Facts

Jose T. Calderon is a businessman engaged in several business activities here and abroad, either in his capacity as President or Chairman of the Board thereon. He is also a stockholder of PLDT and a member of the Manila Polo Club, among others.  He is a seasoned traveler, who travels at least seven times a year in the U.S., Europe and Asia. On the other hand, Equitable Banking Corporation is one of the leading commercial banking institutions in the Philippines, engaged in commercial banking, such as acceptance of deposits, extension of loans and credit card facilities, among others.Sometime in September 1984, Calderon applied and was issued an Equitable International Visa card. The said Visa card can be used for both peso and dollar transactions within and outside the Philippines.  

The credit limit for the peso transaction is twenty thousand pesos; while in the dollar transactions, Calderon is required to maintain a dollar account with a minimum deposit of $3,000.00, the balance of dollar account shall serve as the credit limit.In April 1986, Calderon together with some reputable business friends and associates went to Hongkong for business and pleasure trips.  Specifically on 30 April 1986, Calderon accompanied by his friend, Ed De Leon went to Gucci Department Store located at the basement of the Peninsula Hotel Hongkong.  There and then, Calderon purchased several Gucci items (t-shirts, jackets, a pair of shoes, etc.).  The cost of his total purchase amounted to HK$4,030.00 or equivalent to US$523.00.  Instead of paying the said items in cash, he used his Visa card to effect payment thereof on credit.  He then presented and gave his credit card to the saleslady who promptly referred it to the store cashier for verification.   

Shortly thereafter, the saleslady, in the presence of his friend, Ed De Leon and other shoppers of different nationalities, informed him that his Visa card was blacklisted.  Calderon sought the reconfirmation of the status of his Visa card from the saleslady, but the latter simply did not honor it and even threatened to cut it into pieces with the use of a pair of scissors.Deeply embarrassed and humiliated, and in order to avoid further indignities, Calderon paid cash for the Gucci goods and items that he bought.  

Issue

Whether or not Calderon can be indemnify with damages. 

Ruling

Injury is the illegal invasion of a legal right; damage is the loss, hurt or harm which results from the injury; and damages are the recompense or compensation awarded for the damage suffered.  Thus, there can be damage without injury in those instances in which the loss or harm was not the result of a violation of a legal duty.  In such cases the consequences must be borne by the injured person alone, the law affords no remedy for damages resulting from an act which does not amount to a legal injury or wrong.  These situations are often called damnum absque injuria. 

In other words, in order that a plaintiff may maintain an action for the injuries of which he complains, he must establish that such injuries resulted from a breach of duty which the defendant owed to the plaintiff- a concurrence of injury to the plaintiff and legal responsibility by the person causing it.  The underlying basis for the award of tort damages is the premise that an individual was injured in contemplation of law.  Thus, there must first be a breach of some duty and the imposition of liability for that breach before damages may be awarded; and the breach of such duty should be the proximate cause of the injury. 

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