FIRST DIVISION
[G.R. No. L-3676. October 26, 1907. ]
PONS Y COMPANIA, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. LA COMPANIA MARITIMA, Defendant-Appellant.
Rosado, Sanz and Opisso, for Appellant.
W. A. Kincaid, for Appellee.
SYLLABUS
1. ADMIRALTY; SHIPS AND SHIPPING; "FORCE MAJEURE." — If the officers of a vessel fail to make inspections with that frequency and of a character necessary to discover and remedy existing defects in the ship, from which damage results to the cargo, such damage can not be attributed to force majeure.
2. ID.; ID.; ACTION FOR DAMAGES TO GOODS IN TRANSIT. — For damages resulting to merchandise in transit, due to the negligence of the officials of the ship, a cause of action arises against the owners or agents of the vessel which may be prosecuted by the shipper or consignor of the damaged goods. (Art. 618, Code of Commerce.)
2. ID.; ID.; ACTION FOR DAMAGES TO GOODS IN TRANSIT. — For damages resulting to merchandise in transit, due to the negligence of the officials of the ship, a cause of action arises against the owners or agents of the vessel which may be prosecuted by the shipper or consignor of the damaged goods. (Art. 618, Code of Commerce.)
D E C I S I O N
JOHNSON, J.:
On or about 19th day of February, 1906, the plaintiff turned over to the defendant certain goods, wares, and merchandise to be transported from the city of Manila to the pueblo of Tobaco. These goods were put on board the steamship Venus, which ship belonged to and was under the control of the defendant.
The said ship left Manila with the goods, wares, and merchandise on board on or about the said 19th day of February and arrived at the pueblo of Tobaco some days later. Upon the arrival of the ship at the pueblo of Tobaco, and in fact some days before, the captain in charge of the vessel discovered that a portion of the said goods, wares, and merchandise were submerged in water in the hold of the ship and were practically destroyed. The plaintiff claims that the damages done to his goods amounted to the sum of P738.45, and no question is raised as to the amount of damage done.
On the 26th day of April, 1906, the plaintiff commenced an action in the Court of First Instance of the city of Manila against the defendant, for the purpose of recovering the sum of P738.45, the amount of damage alleged to have been done to said goods, wares, and merchandise. To the complaint of the plaintiff the defendant filed a general and special answer, alleging for his special defense that the damages occasioned to said merchandise were not caused by his negligence, but by circumstances over which he had no control. The issue thus formed was finally brought on for trial on the 11th day of October, 1906. The judge of the Court of First Instance of the city of Manila, after hearing the evidence adduced during the trial of the cause, made the following finding of facts:chanrob1es virtual 1aw library
1. That the plaintiff is a regular company registered and doing business in the city of Manila.
2. That the defendant is a corporation authorized and registered in the city of Manila.
3. That the defendant is the owner and does business in vessel for the transportation of passengers and merchandise between the city of Manila and other points in the Philippine Islands.
4. That on or about the 20th or 22d of February, 1906, the plaintiff delivered certain merchandise to the defendant, under an agreement to transport the same from the city of Manila to the pueblo of Tobaco in the steamship Venus of the property of the defendant.
5. That among the merchandise so delivered there was a box of shoes; that when the said box of shoes had arrived at the pueblo of Tobaco it was found to have been immersed in water during the voyage, while it was deposited in the bodega (hold) of the ship, and that the contents of said box were entirely destroyed; that the value of the shoes contained in said box was P738.45.
Upon these facts the judge of the lower court concluded that there was nothing in the proof adduced during the trial of the cause which was sufficient to relieve the defendant of the responsibility occasioned by the damage done to said merchandise, and therefore rendered a judgment against the defendant and in favor of the plaintiff for the sum of P738.45, with interest at the rate of 6 per cent from the 26th day of April, 1906, and costs. From this judgment the defendant appealed to this court and made the following assignment of errors:chanrob1es virtual 1aw library
1. In making the defendant-appellant responsible for damages caused by force majeure.
2. In declaring that the third person, to whom the damaged merchandise appears to have been sold by the plaintiff, refused to pay the said plaintiff for the value thereof.
3. In not declaring the plaintiff’s lack of right to bring this action.
In the lower court practically the only defense that was offered by the defendant was to the effect that a pipe or tube running from one of the tanks in the stern of the vessel, for the purpose of allowing air to escape, had become rusted and punctured full of holes, so that when the tank was filled with water on that side of the vessel, owing to the list of the ship, the water ran up into this tube or pipe and escape through the holes into the bodega of the vessel and thus some of the merchandise in transportation became wet and was damaged. This was the defense relied upon by the defendant and the one relied upon in the above first assignment of error.
The defendant and appellant claims that the injuries occasioned to the merchandise in question were caused by fuerza mayor. If it is true that the injuries were the result of fuerza mayor, then the defendant is entirely relieved from responsibility and liability. (Art. 620, Commercial Code.)
Upon the question of the cause of the injury the chief engineer, in charge during the voyage when the said damage was done, testified as follows:jgc:chanrobles.com.ph
"Q. After the damage did you see the pipe? — A. After the damage took place the inspector was informed when we arrived in Manila.
"Q. Did you see the pipe at that time? — A. Yes, sir; after the wooden covering was opened.
"Q. In what condition was the pipe? — A. It was broken.
"Q. How was it broken? — A. There were porous holes in the pipe and the water came out.
"Q. Will you explain what you mean by porous? — A. The pipe was made of cast iron and I believe the pipe, on account of being old, had rusted through.
"Q. Do you mean on account of the age of the pipe it had rusted and eaten through? — A. Yes, sir.
"Q. So the damage caused was on account of the pipe having been old? — A. I am unable to tell you.
"Q. So owing to the rust you have seen, you believe that the holes that you found in that pipe were on account of the pipe being old? — A. I suppose so.
"Q. What was the thickness of that pipe? — A. One-half inch.
"Q. Was that pipe unfit for use? — A. Yes, sir.
Carlos Pombo, ship inspector, testified relating to the cause of the injury as follows:jgc:chanrobles.com.ph
"Q. To what do you attribute the breaking of that pipe? — A. It could be attributed to many causes; it was probably more or less to the amount of water in the bilge keel; it might be through some accident; it might have been caused by the filling up of the tank; very likely the loading of some heavy stuff on board and it falling on the board covering of the pipe might have caused the breaking of it.
We are satisfied from an examination of the record brought to this court that the damages occasioned were not of such a character as to be characterized as force majeure. Where the officers of a vessel fail to make such frequent inspection of their ship as to discover the existence of rusted parts, from which injuries to cargo result, we are of the opinion that such injuries can not be attributed to force majeure, but rather to the negligence of the officials of such ship.
An examination of the Spanish and American authorities concerning the meaning of force majeure shows that the jurisprudence of these two countries practically agree upon the meaning of this phrase.
Blackstone, in his Commentaries on English Law, defines it as —
"Inevitable accident or casualty; an accident produced by any physical cause which is irresistible; such as lightning, tempest, perils of the sea, inundation, or earthquake; the sudden illness or death of a person. (2 Blackstone’s Commentaries, 122; Story on Bailments, sec. 25.)
Escriche, in his Diccionario de Legislacion y Jurisprudencia, defines fuerza mayor as follows:jgc:chanrobles.com.ph
"The event which we could neither foresee nor resist; as, for example, the lightning stroke, hail, inundation, hurricane, public enemy, attack by robbers; Vis mayor est, says Cayo, ea qu
The said ship left Manila with the goods, wares, and merchandise on board on or about the said 19th day of February and arrived at the pueblo of Tobaco some days later. Upon the arrival of the ship at the pueblo of Tobaco, and in fact some days before, the captain in charge of the vessel discovered that a portion of the said goods, wares, and merchandise were submerged in water in the hold of the ship and were practically destroyed. The plaintiff claims that the damages done to his goods amounted to the sum of P738.45, and no question is raised as to the amount of damage done.
On the 26th day of April, 1906, the plaintiff commenced an action in the Court of First Instance of the city of Manila against the defendant, for the purpose of recovering the sum of P738.45, the amount of damage alleged to have been done to said goods, wares, and merchandise. To the complaint of the plaintiff the defendant filed a general and special answer, alleging for his special defense that the damages occasioned to said merchandise were not caused by his negligence, but by circumstances over which he had no control. The issue thus formed was finally brought on for trial on the 11th day of October, 1906. The judge of the Court of First Instance of the city of Manila, after hearing the evidence adduced during the trial of the cause, made the following finding of facts:chanrob1es virtual 1aw library
1. That the plaintiff is a regular company registered and doing business in the city of Manila.
2. That the defendant is a corporation authorized and registered in the city of Manila.
3. That the defendant is the owner and does business in vessel for the transportation of passengers and merchandise between the city of Manila and other points in the Philippine Islands.
4. That on or about the 20th or 22d of February, 1906, the plaintiff delivered certain merchandise to the defendant, under an agreement to transport the same from the city of Manila to the pueblo of Tobaco in the steamship Venus of the property of the defendant.
5. That among the merchandise so delivered there was a box of shoes; that when the said box of shoes had arrived at the pueblo of Tobaco it was found to have been immersed in water during the voyage, while it was deposited in the bodega (hold) of the ship, and that the contents of said box were entirely destroyed; that the value of the shoes contained in said box was P738.45.
Upon these facts the judge of the lower court concluded that there was nothing in the proof adduced during the trial of the cause which was sufficient to relieve the defendant of the responsibility occasioned by the damage done to said merchandise, and therefore rendered a judgment against the defendant and in favor of the plaintiff for the sum of P738.45, with interest at the rate of 6 per cent from the 26th day of April, 1906, and costs. From this judgment the defendant appealed to this court and made the following assignment of errors:chanrob1es virtual 1aw library
1. In making the defendant-appellant responsible for damages caused by force majeure.
2. In declaring that the third person, to whom the damaged merchandise appears to have been sold by the plaintiff, refused to pay the said plaintiff for the value thereof.
3. In not declaring the plaintiff’s lack of right to bring this action.
In the lower court practically the only defense that was offered by the defendant was to the effect that a pipe or tube running from one of the tanks in the stern of the vessel, for the purpose of allowing air to escape, had become rusted and punctured full of holes, so that when the tank was filled with water on that side of the vessel, owing to the list of the ship, the water ran up into this tube or pipe and escape through the holes into the bodega of the vessel and thus some of the merchandise in transportation became wet and was damaged. This was the defense relied upon by the defendant and the one relied upon in the above first assignment of error.
The defendant and appellant claims that the injuries occasioned to the merchandise in question were caused by fuerza mayor. If it is true that the injuries were the result of fuerza mayor, then the defendant is entirely relieved from responsibility and liability. (Art. 620, Commercial Code.)
Upon the question of the cause of the injury the chief engineer, in charge during the voyage when the said damage was done, testified as follows:jgc:chanrobles.com.ph
"Q. After the damage did you see the pipe? — A. After the damage took place the inspector was informed when we arrived in Manila.
"Q. Did you see the pipe at that time? — A. Yes, sir; after the wooden covering was opened.
"Q. In what condition was the pipe? — A. It was broken.
"Q. How was it broken? — A. There were porous holes in the pipe and the water came out.
"Q. Will you explain what you mean by porous? — A. The pipe was made of cast iron and I believe the pipe, on account of being old, had rusted through.
"Q. Do you mean on account of the age of the pipe it had rusted and eaten through? — A. Yes, sir.
"Q. So the damage caused was on account of the pipe having been old? — A. I am unable to tell you.
"Q. So owing to the rust you have seen, you believe that the holes that you found in that pipe were on account of the pipe being old? — A. I suppose so.
"Q. What was the thickness of that pipe? — A. One-half inch.
x x x
"Q. Was that pipe unfit for use? — A. Yes, sir.
Carlos Pombo, ship inspector, testified relating to the cause of the injury as follows:jgc:chanrobles.com.ph
"Q. To what do you attribute the breaking of that pipe? — A. It could be attributed to many causes; it was probably more or less to the amount of water in the bilge keel; it might be through some accident; it might have been caused by the filling up of the tank; very likely the loading of some heavy stuff on board and it falling on the board covering of the pipe might have caused the breaking of it.
We are satisfied from an examination of the record brought to this court that the damages occasioned were not of such a character as to be characterized as force majeure. Where the officers of a vessel fail to make such frequent inspection of their ship as to discover the existence of rusted parts, from which injuries to cargo result, we are of the opinion that such injuries can not be attributed to force majeure, but rather to the negligence of the officials of such ship.
An examination of the Spanish and American authorities concerning the meaning of force majeure shows that the jurisprudence of these two countries practically agree upon the meaning of this phrase.
Blackstone, in his Commentaries on English Law, defines it as —
"Inevitable accident or casualty; an accident produced by any physical cause which is irresistible; such as lightning, tempest, perils of the sea, inundation, or earthquake; the sudden illness or death of a person. (2 Blackstone’s Commentaries, 122; Story on Bailments, sec. 25.)
Escriche, in his Diccionario de Legislacion y Jurisprudencia, defines fuerza mayor as follows:jgc:chanrobles.com.ph
"The event which we could neither foresee nor resist; as, for example, the lightning stroke, hail, inundation, hurricane, public enemy, attack by robbers; Vis mayor est, says Cayo, ea qu
