ACTUAL/COMPENSATORY
DEFINITION
- In satisfaction of, or in
recompense for, loss or injury
sustained
- Simply make good or replace
the loss caused by the wrong
When is a person entitled?
1. When there is a pecuniary
loss suffered by him;
2. When he has alleged and
prayed for such relief;
3. When he has duly proved it;
OR when provided by law or
stipulation
COMPONENTS:
1. value of loss; unrealized
profit
2. attorney’s fees and
expenses of litigation
3. interest
MORAL
- Include physical suffering,
mental anguish, fright,
serious anxiety, besmirched
reputation, wounded feelings,
moral shock, social
humiliation, and similar injury;
though incapable of
pecuniary computation, moral
damages may be recovered if
they are the proximate result
of the defendants wrongful
act or omission.
- Awarded only to enable the
injured party to obtain means,
diversion or amusement that
will alleviate the moral
suffering he has undergone,
by reason of defendants’
culpable action
Requisites:
1. There must be an injury,
whether physical, mental, or
psychological, clearly
substantiated by the
claimant;
2. There must be a culpable
act or omission factually
established;
3. The wrongful act or
omission of the defendant
must be the proximate cause
of the injury sustained by the
claimant; and
4. The award of damages is
predicated on any of the
cases in Art. 2219 of the Civil
Code.
NOMINAL TEMPERATE/MODERATE
- Consist in damages awarded, - More than nominal but less
not for purposes of than compensatory, may be
indemnifying the plaintiff for recovered when the court
any loss suffered, but for the finds that some pecuniary
vindication or recognition of a loss has been suffered but
right violated by the the amount cannot, from the
defendant nature of the case, be
- Vindicating or recognizing the provided with certainty (Art.
injured party’s right to a 2224)
property that has been - When the court is convinced
violated or invaded that there has been such a
loss, the judge is empowered
to calculate moderate
damages rather than let the
complainant suffer without
redress.
REQUISITES
Requisites and characteristics: Requisites:
1. Invasion or violation of any 1. Actual existence of
legal or property right pecuniary loss
2. No proof of loss is required. 2. The nature and
3. The award is to vindicate circumstances of the loss
the right violated. prevents proof of the exact
amount.
3. They are more than nominal
and less than
compensatory.
4. Causal connection between
the loss and the defendant’s
act or omission
5. Amount must be
reasonable.
LIQUIDATED
- Agreed upon by the parties to
a contract, to be paid in case
of breach thereof (Art. 2226)
- Frequently agreed upon by
the parties, either by way of
penalty or in order to avoid
controversy on the amount of
damages
Requisites and characteristics:
1. Liquidated damages must
be validly stipulated.
2. There is no need to prove
the amount of actual
damages.
3. Breach of the principal
contract must be proved.
EXEMPLARY
- Imposed by way of example
or correction for the public
good, in addition to the
moral, temperate, liquidated,
or compensatory damages
(Art. 2229)
- Intended to serve as a
deterrent to serious
wrongdoings
Requisites:
1. proof of entitlement to
actual, moral, or temperate
damages
2. cause of action
General principles:
1. cannot be awarded alone;
must be awarded IN
ADDITION to moral,
temperate, liquidated, or
compensatory damages;
2. purpose is to deter the
defendant from a repetition
of the acts for which
exemplary damages were
awarded;
3. not recoverable as a matter
of right;
4. defendant must be guilty of
other malice or else
negligence above the
ordinary;
5. plaintiff not required to prove
the amount of exemplary
damages

 Claimant must produce
competent proof or the best
evidence (admissible or
probative) obtainable such as
receipts to justify an award
therefore.
 Cannot be presumed
 Must be proved with
reasonable certainty
GR: Actual damages must be
substantiated by documentary
evidence, such as receipts, in
order to prove expenses
incurred.
XPN: Damages for loss of
earning capacity may be
awarded despite the absence
of documentary evidence
when:
a. the deceased is self-
employed and earning
less than the minimum
wage under current labor
laws, in which case,
judicial notice may be
taken of the fact that in
the deceased’s line of
work, no documentary
evidence is available; or
b. the deceased is employed
as a daily wage worker
earning less than the
minimum wage under
current labor laws.
MANNER OF DETERMINATION
 No proof of pecuniary loss is  No proof of pecuniary loss is  No proof of pecuniary loss is  No proof of pecuniary loss is  No proof of pecuniary loss is
necessary. necessary. necessary. necessary. necessary.
 The assessment is left to the  What is required is only the  May be recovered when the  If intended as a penalty in
discretion of the court proof that a legal right has court finds that some obligations with a penal When recoverable?
according to the been violated. pecuniary loss has been clause, proof of actual
circumstances of each case.  Usually awarded in the suffered but its amount damages suffered by the Art. 2230 Crimes
 There must be proof that the absence of proof of actual cannot, from the nature of the creditor is not necessary in - The crime was
defendant caused physical damages case, be proved with order that the penalty may be committed with an
suffering, mental anguish, certainty. demanded. aggravating
moral shock, etc. circumstance (s).
GR: The penalty shall
GR: Factual basis must be substitute the indemnity for Art. 2231 Quasi-delicts
alleged. Aside from the need damages and the payment of - Defendant acted with
for the claimant to satisfactorily the interests in case of breach. gross negligence.
prove the existence of the
factual basis of the damages, it XPN: Art. 2232 Contracts and Quasi-
is also necessary to prove its 1. When there is a stipulation contracts
causal relation to the to the contrary. - Defendant acted in a wanton,
defendant’s act. 2. When the obligor is sued fraudulent, reckless,
for refusal to pay the agreed oppressive, or malevolent
XPN: Criminal cases. Moral penalty. manner.
damages may be awarded to 3. When the obligor is guilty
the victim in criminal of fraud.
proceedings in such amount as
the court deems just without The amount can be reduced if:
need for pleading or proof of a. It is unconscionable.
the basis thereof. b. There is partial or irregular
performance.
When recoverable?
1. A criminal offense resulting in
physical injuries
2. Quasi-delicts causing
physical injuries
3. Seduction, abduction, rape,
or other lascivious acts
4. Adultery or concubinage
5. Illegal or arbitrary detention
or arrest
6. Illegal search
7. Libel, slander, or any other
form of defamation
8. Malicious prosecution
9. Acts mentioned in Art. 309
(RPC)
10. Acts and actions referred to
in Articles 21, 26, 27, 28, 29,
30, 32, 34, and 35 (Civil
Code)