Registered Owner Rule Flashcards
(2 cards)
What is the registered owner rule?
The registered-owner rule was articulated as early as 1957 in Erezo, et al. v. Jepte, where this court explained that the registration of motor vehicles, as required by Section 5(a)78 of Republic Act No. 4136, the Land Transportation and Traffic Code, was necessary “not to make said registration the operative act by which ownership in vehicles is transferred, . . . but to permit the use and operation of the vehicle upon any
public highway[.]” Its “main aim . . . is to identify the owner so that if any accident
happens, or that any damage or injury is caused by the vehicle on the public highways, responsibility therefor can be fixed on a definite individual, the registered owner.”
What is the appropriate approach in cases where both the registered owner rule and Article 2180 of the New Civil Code of the Philippines apply?
Therefore, the appropriate approach is that in cases where both the registered-owner rule and Article 2180 apply, the plaintiff must first establish that the employer is the registered owner of the vehicle in question. Once the plaintiff successfully proves ownership, there arises a disputable presumption that the requirements of Article 2180 have been proven. As a consequence, the burden of proof shifts to the defendant to show that no liability under Article 2180 has arisen. This disputable presumption, insofar as the registered owner of the vehicle in relation to the actual driver is concerned, recognizes that between the owner and the victim, it is the former that should carry the costs of moving forward with the evidence. The victim is, in many cases, a hapless pedestrian or motorist with hardly any means to uncover the employment relationship of the owner and the driver, or any act that the owner may have done in relation to that employment. The registration of the vehicle, on the other hand, is accessible to the public.
(CARAVAN TRAVEL AND TOURS INTERNATIONAL, INC. v. ERMILINDA R. ABEJAR, G.R. No. 170631, February 10, 2016)
