FACTS: Universal Aquarius, Inc. (Universal) Is Engaged in The Manufacture and

FACTS: Universal Aquarius, Inc.
(Universal) is engaged in the manufacture and

distribution of chemical products in Metro Manila. It operates a chemical plant in
Antipolo City. Conchita Tan (Tan), as a proprietor under the name and style of
Marman Trading (Marman), is engaged in the trading, delivery and distribution of
chemical products in Metro Manila, with a depot in Antipolo City adjoining
Universal's chemical plant. Q.C. Human Resources Management Corporation
(Resources) is engaged in supplying manpower to various establishments. It
supplied Universal with about seventy-four (74) temporary workers to assist
Universal in the operation of its chemical plant in Antipolo City.
Rodolfo Capocyan, claiming to be the general counsel/national president of the

labor organization called Obrero Pilipino (Universal Aquarius Chapter) sent a Notice
of Strike to Universal. Resources informed the Regional O ce of DOLE that the o cers
and members of Obrero Pilipino are its employees and not employees of Universal.
Five days later, however, Copocyan and 36 other union members of Obrero
picketed, barricaded and obstructed the entry and exit of Universal's Antipolo City
chemical plant and intercepted Universal's delivery trucks thereby disrupting its
business operations. Marman's depot, which adjoined Universal's plant, su ered a
similar fate.
Universal and Tan led a Complaint against the strikers and Resources before the
RTC of Antipolo for breach of contract and damages su ered due to the disruption of
their respective business operations. The strike ended after the forging of an
agreement between Universal and Obrero.
ISSUE: Whether or not Universal and Tan have a cause of action against QC Human
Resources.
HELD: Yes. Section 2, Rule 2 of the 1997 Rules of Civil Procedure de nes a cause of
action as the act or omission by which a party violates the right of another. It is the
delict or the wrongful act or omission committed by the defendant in violation of the
primary right of the plainti.
Its essential elements are as follows: 

1. A right in favor of the plainti by whatever means and under whatever law it
arises or is created;
2. An obligation on the part of the named defendant to respect or not to violate
such right; and 
3. Act or omission on the part of such defendant in violation of the right of the
plainti or constituting a breach of the obligation of the defendant to the
plainti for which the latter may maintain an action for recovery of damages
or other appropriate relief.
It is only upon the occurrence of the last element that a cause of action arises, giving
the plainti the right to maintain an action in court for recovery of damages or other
appropriate relief.
The Complaint su ciently states a cause of action against Resources. The Complaint
alleged that Universal had a contract of employment of temporary workers with
Resources; and that Resources violated said contract by supplying it with un t,
maladjusted individuals who staged a strike and disrupted its business operations.
Given these hypothetically admitted facts, the RTC, in the exercise of its original and
exclusive jurisdiction, could have rendered judgment over the dispute.
However, with regard to Tan's claim for damages, the Court nds that she has no
cause of action against Resources. A thorough reading of the allegations of the
Complaint reveals that Tan's claim for damages clearly springs from the strike e
ected by the employees of Resources. It is settled that an employer's liability for acts
of its employees attaches only when the tortious conduct of the employee relates to,
or is in the course of, his employment. The question then is whether, at the time of
the damage or injury, the employee is engaged in the a airs or concerns of the
employer or, independently, in that of his own. An employer incurs no liability when
an employee’s conduct, act or omission is beyond the range of employment.
Unquestionably, when Resources' employees staged a strike, they were acting on
their own, beyond the range of their employment. Thus, Resources cannot be held
liable for damages caused by the strike staged by its employees.

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FACTS: Universal Aquarius, Inc.

(Universal) is engaged in the manufacture and

Rodolfo Capocyan, claiming to be the general counsel/national president of the

Its essential elements are as follows:

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