Employer's Liability Based On Quasi-Delict

An employer’s liability based on a quasi-delict is primary and direct, while the employer’s liability based on a delict is merely subsidiary. (People vs. Fabro, 93 SCRA 200 (1979). The words “primary and direct” as contrasted with “subsidiary”, refer to the remedy provided by law for enforcing the obligation rather than to the character and limits of the obligation. (33A Words and Phrases 215 (197, Ed.). Although liability under Article 2180 originates from negligent act of the employee, the aggrieved party may sue the employer directly. When an employee causes damage, the law presumes that the employer has himself committed an act of negligence in not preventing or avoiding the damage. This is the fault that the law condemns. While the employer is civilly liable in a subsidiary capacity for the employee’s criminal negligence, the employer is also civilly liable directly and separately for his own civil negligence in failing to exercise due diligence in selecting and supervising his employee.