Alitalia v. IAC

Facts:

Dr. Felipa Pablo, an associate professor in the University of the Philippines and a research grantee of the Philippine Atomic Energy Agency, was invited to take part at a meeting of the Department of Research and Isotopes in Italy in view of her specialized knowledge in “foreign substances in food and the agriculture environment”. She would be the second speaker on the first day of the meeting. Dr. Pablo booked passage on petitioner Alitalia. She arrived in Milan on the day before the meeting, but was told that her luggage was delayed and was in a succeeding flight from Rome to Milan. The luggage included her materials for the presentation. The succeeding flights did not carry her luggage. Desperate, she went to Rome to try to locate the luggage herself, but to no avail. She returned to Manila without attending the meeting. She demanded reparation for the damages. She rejected Alitalia’s offer of free airline tickets and commenced an action for damages. As it turned out, the luggage was actually forwarded to Ispra, but only a day after the scheduled appearance. It was returned to her after 11 months. The trial court ruled in favor of Dr. Pablo, and this was affirmed by the Court of Appeals.

Issues:

(1) Whether the Warsaw Convention should be applied to limit Alitalia’s liability

(2) Whether Dr. Pablo is entitled to nominal damages

Held:

(1) Under the Warsaw Convention, an air carrier is made liable for damages for:

a. The death, wounding or other bodily injury of a passenger if the accident causing it took place on board the aircraft or I the course of its operations of embarking or disembarking;

b. The destruction or loss of, or damage to, any registered luggage or goods, if the occurrence causing it took place during the carriage by air; and

c. Delay in the transportation by air of passengers, luggage or goods.

The convention however denies to the carrier availment of the provisions which exclude or limit his liability, if the damage is caused by his wilful misconduct, or by such default on his part as is considered to be equivalent to wilful misconduct. The Convention does not thus operate as an exclusive enumeration of the instances of an airline's liability, or as an absolute limit of the extent of that liability. It should be deemed a limit of liability only in those cases where the cause of the death or injury to person, or destruction, loss or damage to property or delay in its transport is not attributable to or attended by any wilful misconduct, bad faith, recklessness, or otherwise improper conduct on the part of any official or employee for which the carrier is responsible, and there is otherwise no special or extraordinary form of resulting injury.

In the case at bar, no bad faith or otherwise improper conduct may be ascribed to the employees of petitioner airline; and Dr. Pablo's luggage was eventually returned to her, belatedly, it is true, but without appreciable damage. The fact is, nevertheless, that some species of injury was caused to Dr. Pablo because petitioner ALITALIA misplaced her baggage and failed to deliver it to her at the time appointed - a breach of its contract of carriage. Certainly, the compensation for the injury suffered by Dr. Pablo cannot under the circumstances be restricted to that prescribed by the Warsaw Convention for delay in the transport of baggage.

(2) She is not, of course, entitled to be compensated for loss or damage to her luggage. She is however entitled to nominal damages which, as the law says, is adjudicated in order that a right of the plaintiff, which has been violated or invaded by the defendant, may be vindicated and recognized, and not for the purpose of indemnifying the plaintiff that for any loss suffered and this Court agrees that the respondent Court of Appeals correctly set the amount thereof at PhP 40,000.00.

The Court also agrees that respondent Court of Appeals correctly awarded attorney’s fees to Dr. Pablo and the amount of PhP 5,000.00 set by it is reasonable in the premises. The law authorizes recovery of attorney’s fees inter alia where, as here, the defendant’s act or omission has compelled the plaintiff to litigate with third persons or to incur expenses to protect his interest or where the court deems it just and equitable.