Corporations and Moral Damages

November 21, 2005

One of the things that sticks to a lawyer’s mind about damages is that a corporation is not entitled to moral damages.  Moral damages are a form of compensation decreed by a court in instances where the defendant suffers:

physical suffering, mental anguish, fright, serious anxiety, besmirched reputation, wounded feelings, moral shock, social humiliation, and similar injury

Corporations don’t experience any of the above — when was the last time a corporation suffered wounded feelings or experience physical suffering?  In one case, though, the Supreme Court recognized that Corporations can be entitled to moral damages if their financial reputation had been harmed.

Well, now the Supreme Court has added another instance where corporations can collect moral damages — in libel cases.  In Filipinas Broadcasting Network, Inc. v. Ago Medical and Educational Center-Bicol Christian College ofMedicine, the Court held that in all cases of libel, corporations can be awarded moral damages.  The Court, through Justice Antonio Carpio (who, as a law student, authored a good law journal article on intentional torts), said: (more…)