Jurisdiction over the parties

14. Greenstar Express, Inc. vs Universal Robina Corp.

G.R. No. 205090, October 17, 2016

J. del Castillo

On February 2003, Sayson, while driving a Greenstar bus, collided with a L300 van owned by
Universal Robina. The driver of the van, Bicomong died on the spot. Greenstar filed a complaint
for damages against URC contending that it is negligent in selection of its employees, like
Bicomong who was the proximate cause of the accident.

URC claimed lack of negligence in selection and that Bicomong, during the time of incident, is
not performing official duties considering it is a national holiday. The RTC favored URC. CA
affirmed.

Issue: Should the court held the employer URC liable for the incident?

SC: No. The court dismissed the case for lack of cause of action.

Both parties did not produce sufficient evidence to show the proximate cause of the accident.
Thus, they both bear their own losses.

Petitioner cannot hold URC liable. For the employer to be liable for the damages caused by his
employee, the latter must have caused the damage in the course of doing his assigned tasks or
in the-performance of his duties. Furthermore, even if Greenstar proved Bicomong’s fault, the
Court cannot acquire jurisdiction over the person of Bicomong because he is already dead.