Suing ex-boyfriend for wasting time after 10-year relationship
In one of the Facebook posts of The Philippine Star, it was reported that an ex-girlfriend sued her ex-boyfriend for damages for wasting her time, following him breaking up with her after a 10-year relationship.
Assuming that the the suit was filed in the Philippines and that Philippine laws apply, would the ex-girlfriend's complaint prosper? In other words, should the ex-boyfriend pay her damages for wasting her time -- again, assuming this allegation to be true -- after a 10-year relationship? The answer may be had from the meaning of "injury."
In law, "injury" is defined as an act or omission in violation of the rights of another. It may also be an act or omission in breach of one's obligation to other persons. The most basic example of an injury is one suffered by one person by reason of the abuse of right of another person. Hence, for example, even if it is the right of a person to fence his land, s/he would still be liable for damages if, in doing so, s/he abuses his/her right in one way or another such as causing a neighbor to be left with no ingress or egress.
As long as an act is not in violation of the rights of another or not in breach of one's obligation to other persons, the complaint would not prosper no matter how much "damage" was suffered by the complaining party. For example, if AAA builds a noodle restaurant in front of a similar restaurant of BBB, causing BBB's sales to plummet, BBB cannot successfully sue AAA because there is no injury. In popular law school terms, damnum absque injuria.
Going back to the ex-girlfriend's suit against her 10-year ex-boyfriend, the failure of a relationship may be argued as a case of damnum absque injuria, especially between two consenting adults and without abuse or bad faith on the part of either party. Moreover, the spirit of the law on tort is to "punish" acts which are