On February 26, 2014, the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN) established a legal precedent by imposing a sanction for moral damage to a resort management company. After a young man (the Victim) died of electrocution in water while using a kayak inside the facilities of the “Mayan Palace” hotel (the Company), located in Acapulco, Guerrero, due to the lack of maintenance they had the installations.

          The Victim’s parents sued the company in civil proceedings for the following benefits: (i) compensation for moral damage, due to the death of their son, (ii) damages generated as a consequence of the transfer of the Victim to the State of Mexico, as well as the funeral and exhumation expenses, and (iii) the expenses and costs generated by all the process of the trial.

          After issuing, the judgment of first instance, the parties challenged the judgment before the Civil Chamber and subsequently filed direct amparo claims before Collegiate Courts in Civil Matters of the First Circuit, which were attracted by the First Chamber of the SCJN, considering that this matter could determine that article 1916 of the Civil Code for the Federal District (today Mexico City) is discriminatory, since it provides, in its last paragraph, that when determining the amount of the indemnity or compensation for moral damage, the economic situation of the victims must not be considered as well as the true damage caused.

          In this way, the First Chamber of the SCJN determined that (i) the arguments of the Victim’s parents were founded, (ii) that the responsibility of the Company was updated, which gave rise to the reparation of the moral damage suffered the parents of the victim, (iii) concluded that the harmful act and the negligent conduct of the Company were duly accredited, for which reason (iv) determined that the amount of compensation determined by the responsible Chamber should be modified, and sentenced to the company to pay compensation for moral damages to the parents of the victim, in the amount of $30,259,200.00 (thirty million two hundred fifty-nine thousand two hundred MXN Pesos).

          In this context, the First Chamber of the SCJN highlighted that, if the company had complied with the duties it was responsible for, including maintaining the water pump, the artificial lake would never have been electrified and, therefore, the Victim’s death would have been prevented.

          Finally, the First Chamber of the SCJN analyzed the constitutionality of article 1916 of the Civil Code of the Federal District (today Mexico City), ruling that, since there is no link, not even minimal, between the measure adopted and the end pursued , it can be declared that the interpretation of the normative portion “economic condition” should be rejected for violating the principle of equality and non-discrimination, therefore, the economic condition of the victims should not be weighed to determine the amount of compensation corresponding to the victims. non-patrimonial consequences derived from moral damage.

Undoubtedly, this ruling sets are an important precedent for all lawsuits where moral damage is claimed, including those related to intellectual property matters, in which this type of action related to moral damage is rarely exercised.

 

With the collaboration of: Laura Hernandez, Oscar Flores and Inti Alva.