CASE DIGEST: AUTOZENTRUM v. SPOUSES BERNARDO

Date Published:

G.R. No. 214122, June 08, 2016 AUTOZENTRUM ALABANG, INC., Petitioner, v. SPOUSES MIAMAR A. BERNARDO AND GENARO F. BERNARDO, JR., DEPARTMENT OF TRADE AND INDUSTRY, ASIAN CARMAKERS CORPORATION, AND BAYERISHE MOTOREN WERKE (BMW) A.G., Respondents.

FACTS: 

Spouses Bernardo bought a 2008 BMW 320i sports car, in the amount of P2,990,000, from petitioner Autozentrum, a domestic corporation and authorized dealer of BMW vehicles. On October 2009 until January 2011, Sps. Bernardo have recurrent visits to Petitioner Autozentrum due to malfunction and defect of different parts of said car. Spouses Bernardo then allege that Autozentrum violated Article 50(b) and (c), in relation to Article 97, of RA 7394, when it sold to them a defective and used car, instead of a brand new one. Autozentrum, however, claims that Spouses Bernardo failed to prove the elements of deceit or misrepresentation under Article 50, and injury under Article 97. The DTI and CA decided in favor of Sps. Bernardo and ordered Petitioner to return to Sps. Bernardo the value of the car plus damages.

ISSUE:

Did Petitioner violate Article 50 (b) and (c), in relation to Article 97, of the Consumer Act of the Philippines?

RULING:

Yes, Petitioner violated Article 50 (b) and (c) of the Consumer Act for failure to reveal its prior registration of the car in its name, and for representing an altered and second-hand car as brand new to Spouses Bernardo.

Article 50 (b) and (c) of R.A. 7394 provides: “xxx b) a consumer product or service is of a particular standard, quality, grade, style, or model when in fact it is not; c) a consumer product is new, original or unused, when in fact, it is in a deteriorated, altered, reconditioned, reclaimed or second-hand state; xxx”

However, Autozentrum cannot be liable under Article 97 of RA 7394 because Spouses Bernardo failed to present evidence that Autozentrum is the manufacturer, producer, or importer of the car and that damages were caused to them due to defects in design, manufacture, construction, assembly and erection, formulas and handling and making up, presentation or packing of products, as well as for the insufficient or inadequate information on the use and hazards thereof.