SC affirms liability of auto dealer over defective BMW car
MANILA, Philippines—The Supreme Court has declared final a 2006 ruling by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) holding a car dealer liable for a defective brand new vehicle bought for P3.3 million in 2003.
In a decision made public Tuesday, the high court’s third division through Associate Justice Martin Villarama said the decision of the DTI is already final and executory when PGA Cars, Inc. failed to appeal its ruling within 15 days.
The DTI ruling which was upheld by the Supreme Court directed PGA Cars Inc. to refund to Concordia V. Moran in behalf of her deceased husband Emmanuel B. Moran Jr. the purchase price of the BMW car worth P3.37 million in addition to the payment of costs of litigation (P5,000) and administrative fines (P10,000) payable to the DTI.
“Wherefore, the petition for review on certiorari is granted. The Resolutions dated March 13, 2009 and June 25, 2010 in CA-G.R. SP No. 107059 are reversed and set aside. The Decision dated April 3, 2007 and Order dated October 22, 2008 of the Office of the President are hereby declared null and void. Consequently, the Resolution dated April 28, 2006 of the DTI Secretary is hereby reinstated and upheld,” the high court said.
The Supreme Court. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
PGA took the case to the Office of the President who ruled in its favor.
In its April 3, 2007 decision, the OP reversed the DTI Secretary’s resolution with a ruling that PGA Cars, Inc. could not be held liable for the products defects of the car bought by Moran because “private respondent (PGA Cars, Inc.) was not the manufacturer, builder, producer or importer of the subject BMW car but only its seller.”
Then, the Morans went to the Court of Appeals which reversed the findings of the Office of the President.
But the appeals court dismissed his petition, prompting Mrs. Moran, in substitution of her husband, to raise the issue before the high court.
The high court in its decision said the OP has no jurisdiction to review the resolutions of the DTI Secretary on disputes involving violations of RA 7394.
It said that under RA 7394, “the DTI has the authority and the mandate to act upon complaints filed by consumers pursuant to the State policy of protecting the consumer against deceptive, unfair and unconscionable sales, acts or practices.”
It added that the law provides for arbitration procedure “whereby consumer complaints are heard and investigated by consumer arbitration officers whose decisions are appealable to the DTI Secretary.”
At the same time, the high court said that RA 7394 “expressly provided for immediate judicial relief from decisions of the DTI Secretary by filing a petition for certiorari with the ‘proper court.’”
Thus, the high court said, PGA Cars, Inc. should have elevated the case to the Court of Appeals instead of bringing the issue before the OP.
In filing a petition for certiorari before the CA raising the issue of the OP’s lack of jurisdiction, complainant Moran, Jr. thus availed of the proper remedy,” the high court said.
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