meritt v. govt
TRANSCRIPT
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MERITT V. GOVT. OFPHIL
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+ The plaintiff wasriding his motorbike
along PadreFauraUpon crossing Taft
Avenue and whenhe was ten feet fromthe southwestern
intersection of saidstreets
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An Ambulance of the PGH suddenly
appeared
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The Ambulance
instead of turning toward thesouth, after passing the centerthereof, so that it would be on the
left side of said avenue, as isprescribed by the ordinance andthe Motor Vehicle Act, turnedsuddenly and unexpectedly
long before reaching the center of
the street, into the right side of TaftAvenue, without having soundedany whistle or horn,.
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by which movement it struck the
plaintiff, who was already six feetfrom the southwestern point or fromthe post place there
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+By reason of the resultingcollision, the plaintiff wasseverely injured
according to Dr. Saleeby,he suffered from adepression in the leftparietal region, a would in
the same place and in theback part of his head,while blood issued fromhis nose and he was
entirely unconscious.he had one or morefractures of the skull andthat the grey matter andbrain was had sufferedmaterial injury
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ISSUES:
As the negligence which caused the collision isa tort committed by an agent or employee of theGovernment, the inquiry at once arises whetherthe Government can be sued?
And WON the Government can be legally-liablefor the damages resulting therefrom?
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Yes, the plaintiff can sue the
government It is the general rule that the Insular Government (the defendant)
cannot be sued by an individual without its consent. It is alsoadmitted that the instant case is one against the Government.
In the United States the rule that the state is not liable for the tortscommitted by its officers or agents whom it employs, except whenexpressly made so by legislative enactment, is well settled.
The Government of the Philippine Islands having been "modeledafter the Federal and State Governments in the United States,
There is a law authorizing E. Meritt to sue the Government throughLegislative Act No. 2457, effective February 3, 1915
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The Government waived its
immunity through the enactment ofAct No.2457
By consenting to be sued a state simply waives its immunityfrom suit. however, It merely gives a remedy to enforce a
preexisting liability and submits itself to the jurisdiction of thecourt, subject to its right to interpose any lawful defense.
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2ND ISSUE: REGARDING
LIABILITY FOR DAMAGES NO, although it waived its liabilty from suit, it did not concede
liability to Meritt
The State is not liable for torts, except when it acts through aspecial agent
The driver is not a special agent
Although the accident was caused by a government employee,
the State did not undertake to guarantee to thrid persons theact of its employees for that would subject the state tocountless suit
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The State is not responsible for the
damages suffered by privateindividuals in consequence of theacts performed by its employees
pertaining to their office becauseNEITHER FAULT ORNEGLIGENCE can be presumed on
the part of the government
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Who are Special Agents?
Special Agent a person who receives a definite and fixedorder or commission, foreign to the exercise of the duties of hisoffice if he is a special official
One duly empowered by a definite order or commission toperform some act or charged with some definite purpose whichgives rise to the claim, and not where the claim is based onacts or omissions imputable to a public official charged withsome admin or technical office who can be held to the proper
responsibiity
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THE chauffer was still acting withinhis duty as a driver when he hitMERITT