VDA. DE NUECA v. MANILA RAILROAD CO.

Facts:- At 3 p. m. on Dec . 22, 1958, Fer mi n Nueca br ought 7 sacks of palay to Manila
Railroad Co. (MRC) atits station in Barrio del Rosario, Camarines Sur, tobe shipped to the municipality
of Libmanan of thesame province.- He pai d P 0. 70 as f r ei ght c har ge and was i s s uedWay Bill
No. 56515.- The car go was l oa ded on t he f r ei ght wa gon of Train 537. Passengers boarded
the train andshunting operations started to hook a wagonthereto.- Bef or e t he t r ai n r ea ched t he
t ur nof f s wi t ch, i t s passenger coach fell on its side some 40 m fromthe station. The wagon pinned
Nueca, killing himinstantly.-Nuecas widow and children bring this claim fordamages, alleging
that the Nueca was apassenger and his death was caused by MRCsnegligence.-MRC disclaimed liability
stating: (1) it exerciseddue care in safeguarding the passengers duringthe shunting operation, (2) Nueca was
not a passenger
but a trespasser, (3) even if Nuecawere a passenger, he illegally boarded the trainwithout permission by not
paying the fare, (4) themishap was not attributable to any defect in MRCequipment, (5) that the accident
happened due toforce majeur. MRC presented evidence showing there was nomechanical defect, but
it did not explain why theaccident occurred or show that force majeurcaused the mishap.- The l ower
c our t a bs ol ved MRC of l i a bi l i t y and hel dthat Nueca was a trespasser since he did
not buyany ticket, and in any case, was not in a properplace for passengers



Issue:1.W/N Nueca was a passenger?2. W/ N MRC i s l i a bl e? 3.Was the accident due to MRCs
negligence orforce majeur?4.Is Nueca liable for contributory negligence?


Held:1 . No , Nu e c a wa s
not
a passenger thus, MRC did notowe him extraordinary diligence.A passenger is one who travels in a public
conveyanceby virtue of a contract, express or implied, with thecarrier as to the payment of the fare, or that
which isaccepted as an equivalent. The relation of passenger and carrier commences whenone puts
himself in the care of the carrier, or directlyunder its control, with the bona fide intention of becoming a
passenger, and is accepted as such by thecarrier as where he makes a contract for trasportationand
presents himself at the proper place and in a propermanner to be transported.