NIKKO HOTEL MANILA GARDEN and RUBY LIM vs. ROBERTO REYES a.k.

a AMAY
BISAYA
In relation to Article 19 and 21 of the Civil Code
G.R. No. 154259 February 28 2005
FACTS:
This is a petition for review on certiorari of the decision and resolution of the Court of
Appeals (CA). Robert Reyes at around 6 oclock in the evening, while he was having
coffee at the lobby of the Nikko Hotel Manila Garden (Nikko Hotel), he spotted his friend
Dr. Violeta Filart, who then approached him. Mrs. Filart invited him to come with her in a
birthday party in the hotels penthouse, to which he agreed. At the party venue, he sat with
the party of Mrs. Filart. When the buffet dinner was ready, Mr. Reyes lined-up in the buffet
table, only to be stopped by Ruby Lim, the Executive Secretary of Nikko Hotel. Lim
advised the defendant in a loud voice to leave because Mr. Reyes was not invited. He
tried to explain that Mrs. Filart invited him, to which the she ignored, adding the shame and
humiliation on his part. After the incident, he was escorted by the Makati policeman out of
the hotel premises.
On the other hand, defendant Lim, the organizer of the party for Mr. Tsuruoka, argued that
the guest list was limited to approximately sixty (60) of Mr. Tsuruokas closest friends.
Mindful of this matter, she requested various guests to tell Mr. Reyes to leave the party as
he was not invited. However, Mr. Reyes still lingered that she had no choice but to speak
to him herself as there were no other guests in the immediate vicinity, wherein she politely
told him that he is not supposed to be here, and requested him to finish his food and leave
the vicinity. She then thought that he will heed to her request, however, Mr. Reyes created
a scene, and even threatened to dump food at her. Mr. Reyes filed a complaint to RTC for
the damages under the human relations provisions of the Civil Code. RTC dismissed the
case, leaning towards Nikko Hotel and Lim. Upon the appeal, CA reversed the lower
courts decision, and ordered to compensate Mr. Reyes for moral damages.
Issue: Whether or not Nikko Hotel and Ruby Lim acted abusively in asking Robert Reyes
to leave the party.
Ruling:
No. Ms. Lim, having been in the hotel business for twenty years wherein being polite and
discreet are virtues to be emulated, the testimony of Reyes that she acted to the contrary
does not inspire belief and is indeed incredible. During the cross-examination with the
plaintiff, he admitted that when Ms. Lim talked to him, she was very close enough for him
to kiss. Considering the proximity of Lim to Reyes, the request was meant to be heard only
by him. It was the latters reaction that made the other guests aware of what transpired
between them. Thus, having not abused her right to ask Mr. Reyes to leave the party to
which he was not invited, they cannot be made liable to pay for the damages under Article
19 and 21.