Castro Betancourt v. Payco, Inc.

75 P.R. 59
Procedural entryThis page is a short order in Castro Betancourt v. Payco, Inc.. Read the opinion of the Court — 75 P.R. Dec. 63
Supreme Court of Puerto Rico·Decided June 30, 1953·No. No. 10632·Published

Opinion

Mr. Justice Marrero

delivered the opinion of the Court.

Felipe Castro Betancourt sued Payco Inc., and The Great American Indemnity Company for damages. He alleged that on January 28, 1950, the defendant Payco Inc., sold him, through its employee Félix Rodríguez, some coconut ice cream which appeared fit for human consumption and that as a consequence of eating the ice cream he suffered from a severe poisoning which resulted in nausea, profuse vomiting, acute diarrhea and great physical and mental pain. As a consequence he had to be hospitalized and to receive medical treatment. He included Great American Indemnity Company as a party as the insurer of Payco Inc. 1

Both defendants denied the essential facts of the complaint, and as special defenses Payco Inc. maintained that in the manufacture and preparation of the ice cream it sells for public consumption, it exercises the same or identical degree of care as that exercised by any other person engaged in the same business, and assuming that the facts alleged in the complaint were true, when the plaintiff bought the ice cream prepared in its factory, it had already left the defendant’s immediate control and supervision. The defendant also argued that the complaint does not state facts which constitute a cause of action. The case was tried, the parties [62]*62introduced evidence and the trial court rendered judgment, granting the complaint and ordering the defendants jointly to pay the plaintiff the amount of $300 as damages, legal interest from the date of the filing of the complaint until payment in full, plus the costs and $150 as attorney’s fees. The judgment was based on an opinion containing the following findings of fact:

“That the corporation Payco Incorporated is engaged in the sale of ice cream for human consumption and ... in the operation of that business it utilizes peddlers, to whom it furnishes carts for the sale of its product.
“That Félix Rodríguez Was one of its peddlers, to whom it delivered each morning, besides the cart, a certain amount of ice cream for sale, and that in the evening Félix Rodríguez returned the unsold ice cream and collected for his work one cent and a half for each package of ice cream sold at the rate of five cents per package.
“That on January 27, 1950, Félix Rodríguez went out as usual with the cart furnished him by the defendant Payco Incorporated and stopped at the Porto Rico Commercial Institute, Inc., a school located on Luis Muñoz Marín Avenue, Río Piedras, and there sold coconut ice cream at about 3:00 p.m. to the plaintiff, as well as to other students of that school.
“That the plaintiff Felipe Castro Betancourt felt sick that same night and was taken to San Patricio Hospital, suffering from nausea, vomiting, stomach ache, cramps, diarrhea, fever, great loss of fluids and loss of consciousness.
“That the plaintiff . . . suffered from an acute and severe gastroenteritis, and Dr. José M. Torres treated him, since it was necessary for the plaintiff to remain in that hospital because of his illness during the night of January 27 to 28, 1950, . . . until February 3, 1950, when he was discharged.
“That the acute and severe gastroenteritis suffered by the plaintiff was due, according to the testimony of Dr. José M. Torres, ... to the coconut ice cream he ate and which was sold to him by the peddler Félix Rodríguez.
“That the plaintiff . . . took no other food, neither on that day nor on the day before, besides the ice cream sold by Félix Rodríguez, except for the food he usually eats with his family, none of whom suffered any poisoning.
[63]*63“That the causé of the plaintiff’s poisoning . . . was the ice cream sold to him by Félix Rodríguez.
“That the defendant corporation Payco Incorporated was insured against this risk by the insurance corporation The Great American & Indemnity Co.”

The defendants assign ten errors on appeal which include the following: that the lower court erred (1) in dismissing their motion for nonsuit; (2) in upholding the complaint; (3) in finding that the relationship between Félix Rodrí-guez, the peddler, and the codefendant Payco Inc., was one of employer and employee; (4) that § 1374 of the Civil Code, 1930 ed., is applicable to the issue herein; (5) that the evidence as to the care and skill in the preparation of the ice cream sold by the codefendant Payco Inc., was irrelevant, that the chemical analysis of the plaintiff’s vomit and of the article sold was unnecessary and that the convinced judgment of the court that the ice cream was unwholesome is sufficient to grant the complaint; (6) that the ice cream was unwholesome; (7) that the poisoning suffered by the plaintiff was caused by the ice cream sold to him by Félix Rodríguez; (8) that the rule known in some of the United States as the rule of implied warranty is applied in Puerto Rico where the sale of food is concerned; (9) in finding that under the latter doctrine the plaintiff proved an action for damages; and (10) in ordering them to pay $150 as attorney’s fees, despite the fact that they had not been obstinate and that the fees are excessive.

A motion for nonsuit is only a demurrer to the evidence and admits the truth thereof insofar as it is. relevant. Furthermore, a scintilla of evidence in the proof offered by the plaintiff is enough to overrule the motion. José Malgor & Co. v. B. Silva Sucrs., 70 P.R.R. 767. It is unquestionable that such scintilla of evidence existed in this case.

On the other hand, although Rule 41(b) of the Rules of Civil Procedure- provides that “After the plaintiff [64]*64has completed the presentation of his evidence, the defendant, without waiving his right to offer evidence in the event the motion is not granted, may move for a dismissal on the ground that upon the facts and the law the plaintiff has shown no right to relief,” that Rule does not have the effect which apparently we gave it in Torres v. Marcano, 68 P.R.R. 813. In discussing the motion for nonsuit filed by the defendant in the latter case we analyzed the evidence offered both by the plaintiff and the defendant and held that the lower court did not err in overruling the motion. At page 815 of volume 68 we also quoted the text of Rule 41(6) copied above. The latter gives the impression that on appeal a defendant may insist on his motion for nonsuit although he offered evidence in support of his case when his motion was overruled. This impression is erroneous. The Rule merely says that after the plaintiff has completed the presentation of his evidence, the defendant may present a motion for nonsuit, without waiving his right to offer evidence. The Rule does not say, however, that where the defendant offers evidence in support of his defense after his motion for non-suit is overruled, he does not waive the motion. Construing that rule in 5 Moore’s Federal Practice, 2d ed., there is the statement at page 1041 that: “If the motion is denied, the defendant may proceed to offer evidence. If he does 'proceed he waives any right to object later that his motion was erroneously denied,” (italics ours) citing several cases of Federal and state courts. We consider that this is the correct construction of the text of the Rule copied above, and that by proceeding to offer their evidence, the defendants waived their motion for nonsuit.

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Castro Betancourt v. Payco, Inc., 75 P.R. 59 (prsupreme 1953).

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