"x x x.
Even on the assumption that CAI may be held liable for the acts of Mager, still, Spouses Viloria are not entitled to a refund. Mager’s statement cannot be considered a causal fraud that would justify the annulment of the subject contracts that would oblige CAI to indemnify Spouses Viloria and return the money they paid for the subject tickets.
Article 1390, in relation to Article 1391 of the Civil Code, provides that if the consent of the contracting parties was obtained through fraud, the contract is considered voidable and may be annulled within four (4) years from the time of the discovery of the fraud. Once a contract is annulled, the parties are obliged under Article 1398 of the same Code to restore to each other the things subject matter of the contract, including their fruits and interest.
On the basis of the foregoing and given the allegation of Spouses Viloria that Fernando’s consent to the subject contracts was supposedly secured by Mager through fraudulent means, it is plainly apparent that their demand for a refund is tantamount to seeking for an annulment of the subject contracts on the ground of vitiated consent.
Whether the subject contracts are annullable, this Court is required to determine whether Mager’s alleged misrepresentation constitutes causal fraud. Similar to the dispute on the existence of an agency, whether fraud attended the execution of a contract is factual in nature and this Court, as discussed above, may scrutinize the records if the findings of the CA are contrary to those of the RTC.
Under Article 1338 of the Civil Code, there is fraud when, through insidious words or machinations of one of the contracting parties, the other is induced to enter into a contract which, without them, he would not have agreed to. In order that fraud may vitiate consent, it must be the causal (dolo causante), not merely the incidental (dolo incidente), inducement to the making of the contract.30 In Samson v. Court of Appeals,31 causal fraud was defined as “a deception employed by one party prior to or simultaneous to the contract in order to secure the consent of the other.”32
Also, fraud must be serious and its existence must be established by clear and convincing evidence. As ruled by this Court in Sierra v. Hon. Court of Appeals, et al.,33 mere preponderance of evidence is not adequate:
Fraud must also be discounted, for according to the Civil Code:
Art. 1338. There is fraud when, through insidious words or machinations of one of the contracting parties, the other is induced to enter into a contract which without them, he would not have agreed to.
Art. 1344. In order that fraud may make a contract voidable, it should be serious and should not have been employed by both contracting parties.
To quote Tolentino again, the “misrepresentation constituting the fraud must be established by full, clear, and convincing evidence, and not merely by a preponderance thereof. The deceit must be serious. The fraud is serious when it is sufficient to impress, or to lead an ordinarily prudent person into error; that which cannot deceive a prudent person cannot be a ground for nullity. The circumstances of each case should be considered, taking into account the personal conditions of the victim.”34
After meticulously poring over the records, this Court finds that the fraud alleged by Spouses Viloria has not been satisfactorily established as causal in nature to warrant the annulment of the subject contracts. In fact, Spouses Viloria failed to prove by clear and convincing evidence that Mager’s statement was fraudulent. Specifically, Spouses Viloria failed to prove that (a) there were indeed available seats at Amtrak for a trip to New Jersey on August 13, 1997 at the time they spoke with Mager on July 21, 1997; (b) Mager knew about this; and (c) that she purposely informed them otherwise.
This Court finds the only proof of Mager’s alleged fraud, which is Fernando’s testimony that an Amtrak had assured him of the perennial availability of seats at Amtrak, to be wanting. As CAI correctly pointed out and as Fernando admitted, it was possible that during the intervening period of three (3) weeks from the time Fernando purchased the subject tickets to the time he talked to said Amtrak employee, other passengers may have cancelled their bookings and reservations with Amtrak, making it possible for Amtrak to accommodate them. Indeed, the existence of fraud cannot be proved by mere speculations and conjectures. Fraud is never lightly inferred; it is good faith that is. Under the Rules of Court, it is presumed that "a person is innocent of crime or wrong" and that "private transactions have been fair and regular."35 Spouses Viloria failed to overcome this presumption.
x x x."
