CA sets aside P7.4M suit vs Aga Muhlach over Marie France weight loss campaign

MANILA, Philippines – The Court of Appeals (CA) on Monday, February 14, has set aside a Makati City trial court ruling that required actor Aga Muhlach and his manager Ethel Ramos to pay an advertising agency P7.4 million for breach of contract.

The decision, written by Associate Justice Pablito Perez, voided the contract between Muhlach and the agency, Pacific Asian Advertising Specialist, Inc. (PAASI), and dismissed the civil case filed by PAASI against Muhlach and Ramos. The reason: the obligations of both PAASI and Muhlach were not clearly laid out in the said contract.

“In hindsight, the parties’ contract could have been written with more precision in order for their intent to be beyond misunderstanding or disagreement,” the CA said.

It was because of the contract’s ambiguity, that the CA said: “leaving the parties where they are is the most equitable resolution of this dispute.”

In 2009, PAASI got Muhlach as an endorser for weight loss company Marie France and its skincare arm Facial Care Center for Men. The plan was for Muhlach to undergo a weight loss and facial care program under Marie France for a before-and-after advertisement of the company’s services.

In 2011, PAASI filed a civil case accusing Aga Muhlach of breaching the contract, since he had undergone only 29 of the 78 treatment sessions, was spotted working out at a Gold’s Gym, and was public about watching what he ate.

According to the CA, while it was clear that Muhlach’s physical transformation was what both parties had agreed upon in the contract, it wasn’t stated as to what specific weight or physique Muhlach had to achieve. – Rappler.com