14
legal obligation to undertake this search, an obligation it cannot evade by pleading
its federal structure or any other administrative argument.
58.
To determine the material damages suffered, in the instant case it seems
reasonable to identify the expenses incurred and lost earnings that the claimants
sustained. In the instant case, the Court must first ascertain what family, labor,
business, farm, industrial or any other type of activity suffered a loss by virtue of the
victims’ deaths and who the injured parties are. Secondly, it must ascertain who has
sustained a loss of income owing to the victim’s disappearance.
59.
The relatives of Adolfo Garrido state that he worked as a carpenter. This
appears in various places in his police record, while elsewhere he is shown as a day
laborer, someone with no profession, or as a tradesman. The claimants submitted
no credible evidence to show what businesses Mr. Garrido worked for, when he
worked there, what salary or wage he received and what capital he had. Nor did
they present any evidence to show that he lived in the home of one of the claimants
or assisted them economically. One piece of evidence that speaks to his lifestyle is
his police record and his prison records. It has not been shown that either the
mother or any other family of Adolfo Garrido received any type of economic support
from him and hence did not suffer any material damages owing to his death.
60.
The situation of Raúl Baigorria is similar to that of the other victim. While his
relatives state that he worked as a bricklayer, his police dossier, where he also
appears by the name of Jorge Alberto Díaz González, shows him as a peddler, a day
laborer, an individual with no profession, a tradesman and a stonemason. There is
no evidence that his siblings received any form of economic assistance from him or
that he lived with any of them. Nor is there any evidence to show that he provided
support for his natural children. Furthermore, according to his police and court
records, he did not engage in any regular productive activity with any degree of
continuity. Given these circumstances, one can conclude that the disappearance of
Raúl Baigorria did not cause his family any economic damage or deprive any member
of his family of economic support, since no evidence was shown that he had ever
provided such support.
61.
For the reasons set forth in the preceding paragraph, the Court denies the
request for payment of material damages, because no such damages were proven.
62.
As for the moral damages caused by the disappearance of Adolfo Garrido, the
principal person affected is his mother, Ms. Rosa Sara Calderón. As the Court
pointed out earlier (supra 49), these damages do not require evidence as it is clear
that the disappearance of her son caused his mother very grave suffering,
particularly given the circumstances under which it occurred by reason of the
reprehensible conduct of certain public servants in the Province of Mendoza involved
in the instant case. One must also consider that as her son’s heir, Ms. Rosa Sara
Calderón succeeded him in the right to be compensated for the suffering he
sustained in life. The Court believes that a fair figure for the total compensation for
moral damages owed to Ms. Calderón is US$75,000 (seventy five thousand United
States of America dollars).
63.
The siblings of Adolfo Garrido also claim they are entitled to compensation for
moral damages. However, they offered no proof of an affective relationship such
that the disappearance of their brother would have caused them grievous suffering.
Some live more than 1,000 kilometers from where Mr. Garrido lived and there is no