DOMINGO DE LA CRUZ vs. NORTHERN THEATRICAL ENTERPRISES INC., ET AL.

Conrado Rubio for appellant.

Ruiz, Ruiz, Ruiz, Ruiz, and Benjamin Guerrero for appellees.

Facts:
1941, The Northern Theatrical Enterprises Inc., a domestic corporation
operated a movie house in Laoag, Ilocos Norte. Domingo De La Cruz was
employed whose duties were to guard the main entrance, to maintain peace
and order and to report the commission of disorders within premises. He
carried a revolver.
Benjamin Martin wanted to crash the gate or entrance of the movie house.
Infuriated by the refusal of De la Cruz to let him in without first providing
himself with a ticket, Martin attacked him with a bolo. De la Cruz defendant
himself as best he could until he was cornered, at which moment to save
himself he shot Martin, resulting in Benjamin Martins death.
De la Cruz was charged with homicide. After a re-investigation conducted by
the Provincial Fiscal the latter filed a motion to dismiss the complaint, which
was granted by the court. De la Cruz was again accused of the same crime of
homicide. After trial, he was finally acquitted of the charge.
He then demanded from former employer to repay the expenses but was
refused thus filed present action against the Northern Theatrical Enterprises
Inc company and to three members of its Board of Directors to recover
amounts he had paid his lawyers including moral damages said to have been
suffered due to his worry, neglect of his interests and his family as well in the
supervision of the cultivation of his land, a total of P 15,000.
Court of First Instance of Ilocos Norte rejected the theory of De la Cruz
because he was an agent of Northern Theatrical Enterprises Inc. and that as
such agent he was entitled to compensate the expenses incurred by him in
connection with the agency.
The court found and decided that De La Cruz had no cause of action and
dismissed the complaint without costs.

Issue:
Whether or not an agent whos in the line of duty performs an act that
resulted in his incurring expenses caused by a stranger. May the latter
recover the said expenses against his former employer.

Held:
No, because the relationship between the Northern Theatrical Enterprises
Inc. and plaintiff was not that of principal and agent because the principle of
representation as a characteristic of agency was in no way involved. Plaintiff
was not employed to represent corporation in its dealings with third parties.
Plaintiff is a mere employee hired to perform a certain specific duty or task,
that of acting as a special guard and staying at the main entrance of the
movie house to stop gate crashers and to maintain peace and order within
the premises.