NOMINAL DAMAGES

SECTION 2. - Nominal Damages

■ Art. 2221. Nominal damages are adjudicated in order that a right of the plaintiff,
which has been violated or invaded by the defendant, may be vindicated or
recognized, and not for the purpose of indemnifying the plaintiff for any loss
suffered by him.

Art. 2222. The court may award nominal damages in every obligation arising from
any source enumerated in Article 1157, or in every case where any property right
has been invaded.

Art. 2223. The adjudication of nominal damages shall preclude further contest
upon the right involved and all accessory questions, as between the parties to the
suit, or their respective heirs and assigns.
Nominal Damages

■ Nominal damages may be recovered whenever there is a breach of legal duty, or

invasion of a legal right, but not actual damage resulted or was established.
■ An unlawful invasion of right must be proved.
■ Awarded to vindicate a right that has been violated and not to indemnify the plaintiff
for the loss.
■ Amount to be awarded depends on the discretion of the court, and varies depending
on the circumstances of each case.
■ Nominal damages cannot co-exist with compensatory damages
Better bldgs., Inc., vs. Japan Airlines vs. Court of
NLRC Appeals
■ DOCTRINE: Nominal ■ DOCTRINE: Nominal damages
are adjudicated in order that
damages must be a right of a plaintiff, which
awarded in has been violated or invaded
recognition of the by the defendant, may be
vindicated or recognized and
right to due process not for the purpose of
and hearing, if such indemnifying any loss
was violated. suffered by him
 PNOC SHIPPING AND
ARMOVIT vs. CA & TRANSPORT CORP. v.
NORTHWEST AIRLINES COURT OF APPEALS ET AL
■ DOCTRINE: Nominal damages are
■ DOCTRINE: The awarded in every obligation arising
from law, contracts, quasi-contracts,
establishment of malice acts or omissions punished by law,
and quasi-delict, or in every case
and bad faith where property right has been
invaded. Actually, nominal damages
accompanying a breach are damages in name only and not in
fact. Where these are allowed, they
of contract entitles are not treated as an equivalent of a
wrong inflicted but simply in
petitioners to moral recognition of the existence of a
technical injury. However, the amount
damages to be awarded as nominal damages
shall be equal or at least
commensurate to the injury sustained
by private respondent considering the
concept and purpose of such
damages. The amount of nominal
damages to be awarded may also
depend on certain special reasons
extant in the case
 SAN MIGUEL
SALUDO, JR. ET AL v. CORPORATION v. ABALLA
COURT OF APPEALS ET AL
■ DOCTRINE: Nominal damages ■ DOCTRINE: In fixing the amount of nominal
damages to be awarded, the circumstances
are not intended for of each case should be taken into account,
indemnification of loss such as, to exemplify, the:

suffered but for the ■ (a) length of service or employment of the

vindication or recognition of a
right violated of invaded. They
are recoverable where some
injury has been done but the
amount of which the evidence
fails to show, the assessment
of damages being left to the
dismissed employee;
■ (b) his salary or compensation at the time of
the termination of employment vis-a-vis the
capability of the employer to pay;
■ (c) question of whether the employer has
deliberately violated the requirements for
termination of employment or has attempted
to comply, at least substantially, therewith;
and/or

discretion of the court ■ (d) reasons for the termination of

employment
according to the
circumstances of the case.
 HEIRS OF EDUARDO
MANLAPAT v. COURT OF
APPEALS
■ DOCTRINE: In the absence of
evidence, the damages that may be
awarded may be in the form of
nominal damages. Nominal
damages are adjudicated in order
that a right of the plaintiff, which
has been violated or invaded by the
defendant, may be vindicated or
recognized, and not for the purpose
of indemnifying the plaintiff for any
loss suffered by him.
TEMPERATE DAMAGES
SECTION 3. - Temperate or Moderate
Damages
■ Art. 2224. Temperate or moderate damages, which are
more than nominal but less than compensatory damages,
may be recovered when the court finds that some
pecuniary loss has been suffered but its amount can not,
from the nature of the case, be provided with certainty.
■ Art. 2225. Temperate damages must be reasonable under
the circumstances
Temperate Damages

■ Temperate or moderate damages are awarded when a pecuniary loss has been
suffered but its amount cannot be determined with certainty.
■ The award of temperate damages is more than nominal but less than compensatory
damages (ND < TD < CD), and the rule is that they must be reasonable in all
circumstances
■ The need to award temperate damages arises from the fact that there are instances
when, although the court is convinced that actual damages has been suffered, the
aggrieved party cannot establish the exact amount by independent, distinct proof.
■ The award of temperate, moral, and exemplary damages as well as attorney's fees
lies upon the discretion of the court based on the fact and circumstances of each
case.
NECESITO vs. PARAS MAXIMO PLENO vs. CA
■ DOCTRINE: In cases where ■ DOCTRINE: Temperate
the court is convinced of the damages lies on the
existence of loss, although
court's discretion subject
definite proof of pecuniary
loss cannot be offered, the to the condition that it
judge should be empowered should not be excessive
to calculate moderate
damages, rather than that the
plaintiff should suffer without
redress from the defendant's
wrongful act

CONSOLIDATED PLYWOOD
INDUSTRIES INC. vs. CA
■ DOCTRINE: There was no
showing nor proof that
petitioner was entitled to an
award of this kind of damages
in addition to the actual
damages it suffered as a
direct consequence of private
respondents’ act. The nature
of the contract between the
parties is such that damages
which the innocent party may
have incurred can be
substantiated by evidence.
METROPOLITAN BANK &
TRUST CO. VS. COURT OF
APPEALS
■ DOCTRINE: Moral and temperate
damages which are not susceptible
of pecuniary estimation are not
awarded to penalize the petitioner
but to compensate the respondents
for injuries suffered as a result of
the former's fault and negligence,
taking into account the latter's
credit and social standing in the
banking community, particularly
since this is the very first time such
humiliation has befallen private
respondents. The amount of such
losses need not be established with
exactitude, precisely due to their
nature. (based on the book)
BARZAGA v. COURT OF
APPEALS
■ DOCTRINE: While petitioner may
have indeed suffered pecuniary
losses, these by their very nature
could be established with certainty
by means of payment receipts. As
such, the claim falls unequivocally
within the realm of actual or
compensatory damages.
Petitioner's failure to prove actual
expenditure consequently conduces
to a failure of his claim.
PEOPLE v. PADLAN
■ DOCTRINE: Damages cannot be
both actual and temperate.
Temperate or moderate damages
are allowed because, while some
pecuniary loss has been suffered,
from the nature of the case its
amount cannot be proved with
certainty

RAMOS ET AL v. COURT OF
APPEALS
■ DOCTRINE: Temperate
damages can and should
be awarded on top of actual
or compensatory damages
in instances where the
injury is chronic and
continuing.
CITYTRUST BANKING
CORPORATION v.
INTERMEDIATE
APPELLATE COURT
■ DOCTRINE: It is wrong to award, along
with nominal damages, temperate or
moderate damages. The two awards
are incompatible and cannot be
granted concurrently. Nominal
damages are given in order that a
right of the plaintiff, which has been
violated or invaded by the defendant,
may be vindicated or recognized, and
not for the purpose of indemnifying
the plaintiff for any loss suffered by
him (Art. 2221, New Civil Code;
Manila Banking Corp. vs. Intermediate
Appellate Court, 131 SCRA 271).
Temperate or moderate damages,
which are more than nominal but less
than compensatory damages, on the
other hand, may be recovered when
the court finds that some pecuniary
loss has been suffered but its amount
cannot, from the nature of the case,
be proved with reasonable certainty