Zulueta vs.

Pan American World Airways

4 SCRA 397
Facts
Pl ai nt i f f Zul uet a, hi s wi f e and daught er wer e passengers aboar dde
fendants plane from Honolulu to Manila. Upon reaching Wake Island
thepassengers were advised that they could disembark for a stopover for about30
minutes. Plaintiff went to the toilet at the terminal building but finding it
f ul l
wal ked 200yar ds away. Upon ret urni ng he t ol d an empl oyee of t he
defendant that they almost made him miss the flight because of a
defectiveannouncing system. He had a discussion with either the plan
captain or thet er mi nal manager . He was t ol d t hat
t hey woul d open hi s
bags whi ch her e f u s e d a n d h e wa r n e d t h e m o f t h e c o n s e q u e n c
e s . J u s t t h e s a me t h e y opened his bags and found nothing prohibited.
They forced him to go out of the plane and left him at Wake Island. His
wife had to send him money andhe was abl e t o l eave Wake I sl and
and ret urn t o Mani l a t hru Honol ul u andTokyo after two days. This action
was to recover damages from thedefendant.
Issue:
WON moral damages may be recovered.
Held
: The records amply establish plaintiffs right to recover both moral andexemplary
damages. Indeed, the rude and rough reception plaintiff receivedat t he hands
of Si t t on or Capt ai n Zent ner when t he l at t er met hi m at t her a mp
( Wh a t i n t h e h e l l d o y o u t h i n k y o u a r e ? Ge t o n t h a t
p l a n e ) ; t h e menacing attitude of Zentner or Sitton and the supercilious manner
in whichhe had asked plaintiff to open his bags (open your bag, and when told that
afourth bag was missing, I dont give a damn); the abusive language
andh i g h l y s c o r n f u l r e f e r e n c e t o p l a i n t i f f s a s mo n k e y s b y o n e
o f P AN AM s employees (who turning to Mrs. Zulueta remarked, will you pull
these threemonkeys out of here?); the unfriendly attitude, the ugly stares
and unkindremarks to which plaintiffs were subjected, and their being cordoned by
menin uniform as if they were criminals, while plaintiff was arguing with
Sitton;the airline officials refusal to allow plaintiff to board the plane on the
pretextthat he was hiding a bomb in his luggage and their arbitrary and high-
handeddeci si on t o l eave hi m i n Wake; Mr s. Zul uet a s havi ng suf f ere
d a ner vousbreakdown for which she was hospitalized as a result of the
embarrassment,insults and humiliations to which plaintiffs were exposed by
the conduct of PAN AMs employees; Mrs. Zulueta having suffered shame,
humiliation andembarrassment for the treatment received by her parents at the
airport allt hese j ust i f y an award f or moral damages r esul t i ng f rom
ment al angui sh, serious anxiety, wounded feelings, moral shock, and social
humiliationthereby suffered by plaintiffs. Plaintiffs were awarded Pesos 500,000.00
andmoral damages, Pesos 200,000.00 exemplary damages, Pesos 75,000.
00attorneys fees and Pesos 5,502.85 actual damages