Scribd
Upload
736 views2 pages

Southern Lines v. CA

1) In 1948, the City of Iloilo ordered 1,726 sacks of rice from NARIC which was shipped on a vessel owned by Southern Lines. Upon delivery, 41 sacks of rice were found missing, equivalent to 13,319 kilos. 2) The City of Iloilo sued both NARIC and Southern Lines to recover the value of the missing rice. The trial court found NARIC not liable but found Southern Lines liable and ordered them to pay most of the claimed amount. 3) On appeal, the Supreme Court upheld Southern Lines' liability, finding that the carrier is responsible for shortages resulting from negligence, as admitted by Southern Lines that bags were broken and rice

Uploaded by

Justin Luis Jalandoni
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
736 views2 pages

Southern Lines v. CA

1) In 1948, the City of Iloilo ordered 1,726 sacks of rice from NARIC which was shipped on a vessel owned by Southern Lines. Upon delivery, 41 sacks of rice were found missing, equivalent to 13,319 kilos. 2) The City of Iloilo sued both NARIC and Southern Lines to recover the value of the missing rice. The trial court found NARIC not liable but found Southern Lines liable and ordered them to pay most of the claimed amount. 3) On appeal, the Supreme Court upheld Southern Lines' liability, finding that the carrier is responsible for shortages resulting from negligence, as admitted by Southern Lines that bags were broken and rice

Uploaded by

Justin Luis Jalandoni
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 2

G.R. No.

L-16629             January 31, 1962

SOUTHERN LINES, INC., petitioner,


vs.
COURT OF APPEALS and CITY OF ILOILO, respondents.

Facts:
Sometime in 1948, the City of Iloilo requisitioned for rice from the National Rice and
Corn Corporation (hereafter referred to as NARIC) in Manila. On August 24 of the
same year, NARIC, pursuant to the order, shipped 1,726 sacks of rice consigned to
the City of Iloilo on board the SS "General Wright" belonging to the Southern Lines,
Inc. Each sack of rice weighed 75 kilos and the entire shipment as indicated in the
bill of lading had a total weight of 129,450 kilos.

On September 3, 1948, the City of Iloilo received the shipment and paid the amount
of P63,115.50. However, it was noted that the foot of the bill of lading that the City
of Iloilo 'Received the above mentioned merchandise apparently in same condition
as when shipped, save as noted below: actually received 1685 sacks with a gross
weight of 116,131 kilos upon actual weighing. Total shortage ascertained 13,319
kilos." The shortage was equivalent to 41 sacks of rice with a net weight of 13,319
kilos, the proportionate value of which was P6,486.35.

On February 14, 1951 the City of Iloilo filed a complaint in the Court of First Instance
of Iloilo against NARIC and the Southern Lines, Inc. for the recovery of the amount
of P6,486.35 representing the value of the shortage of the shipment of rice. After
trial, the lower court absolved NARIC from the complaint, but sentenced the
Southern Lines, Inc. to pay the amount of P4,931.41 which is the difference between
the sum of P6,486.35 and P1,554.94 representing the latter's counterclaim for
handling and freight.

Issue:
Whether or not the defendant-carrier, the herein petitioner, is liable for the loss or
shortage of the rice shipped?

Held:

Article 361 of the Code of Commerce provides: .

ART. 361. — The merchandise shall be transported at the risk and venture of
the shipper, if the contrary has not been expressly stipulated.

As a consequence, all the losses and deteriorations which the goods may
suffer during the transportation by reason of fortuitous event, force majeure,
or the inherent nature and defect of the goods, shall be for the account and
risk of the shipper.1äwphï1.ñët

Proof of these accidents is incumbent upon the carrier.

Under Article 361 of the Code of Commerce, the defendant-carrier, in order to free
itself from liability, was only obliged to prove that the damages suffered by the
goods were "by virtue of the nature or defect of the articles." Under the provisions
of Article 362, the plaintiff, in order to hold the defendant liable, was obliged to
prove that the damages to the goods by virtue of their nature, occurred on account
of its negligence or because the defendant did not take the precaution adopted by
careful persons. (Government vs. Ynchausti & Co., 40 Phil. 219, 223). Southern
Lines, Inc. vs. Court of Appeals, 4 SCRA 258, No. L-16629 January 31, 1962
Petitioner claims exemption from liability by contending that the shortage in the
shipment of rice was due to such factors as the shrinkage, leakage or spillage of the
rice on account of the bad condition of the sacks at the time it received the same
and the negligence of the agents of respondent City of Iloilo in receiving the
shipment. The contention is untenable, for, if the fact of improper packing is known
to the carrier or his servants, or apparent upon ordinary observation, but it accepts
the goods notwithstanding such condition, it is not relieved of liability for loss or
injury resulting thereform. (9 Am Jur. 869.) Furthermore, according to the Court of
Appeals, "appellant (petitioner) itself frankly admitted that the strings that tied the
bags of rice were broken; some bags were with holes and plenty of rice were spilled
inside the hull of the boat, and that the personnel of the boat collected no less than
26 sacks of rice which they had distributed among themselves." This finding, which
is binding upon this Court, shows that the shortage resulted from the negligence of
petitioner.

You might also like

pFad - Phonifier reborn

Pfad - The Proxy pFad of © 2024 Garber Painting. All rights reserved.

Note: This service is not intended for secure transactions such as banking, social media, email, or purchasing. Use at your own risk. We assume no liability whatsoever for broken pages.


Alternative Proxies:

Alternative Proxy

pFad Proxy

pFad v3 Proxy

pFad v4 Proxy