Case Digest (G.R. No. L-29432)
Facts:
Jai-Alai Corporation of the Philippines v. Bank of the Philippine Islands, G.R. No. L-29432, August 06, 1975, Supreme Court First Division, Castro, J., writing for the Court.The petitioner, Jai-Alai Corporation of the Philippines, deposited ten checks between April 2 and May 18, 1959, in its current account with the respondent, Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI), with a total face value of P8,030.58. The checks were drawn on several drawee banks, payable to Inter-Island Gas Service, Inc., and had been acquired by the petitioner from one Antonio J. Ramirez, a sales agent of Inter-Island Gas and a habitual bettor at the petitioner’s jai-alai games. The respondent provisionally credited the deposits pursuant to a clause on its deposit slips reserving the right to charge back items until actual receipt of current funds or solvent credits.
About late July 1959 Inter-Island Gas discovered that the indorsements on those checks, purportedly by its cashiers and bearing the company’s rubber stamp, were forged. Inter-Island Gas advised the petitioner, the respondent, the drawers and the drawee-banks and filed a criminal complaint against Ramirez. Upon being notified, BPI’s cashier informed the petitioner that it would debit the petitioner’s account when the drawee-banks returned the checks.
The drawee-banks, having been apprised of the forgeries, demanded reimbursement from BPI; BPI paid them and then debited the petitioner’s account for the value of the checks and forwarded the checks to the petitioner, who refused delivery. When the petitioner later drew a P135,000 check on October 8, 1959, BPI dishonored it because the account balance reflected the charge-back, leaving insufficient funds. The petitioner sued BPI in the Court of First Instance (Manila); the trial court dismi...(Pro-only)
Issues:
- Did the respondent have the right to debit the petitioner’s current account for the amount of the checks after more than three months from the provisional crediting?
- Is the respondent estopped from claiming the P8,030.58 had not been properly credited because the drawee-banks paid and the respondent received the proceeds?
- If the respondent improperly debited the petitioner’s account, is t...(Pro-only)
Ruling:
- (Pro-only)
Ratio:
- (Pro-only)
Doctrine:
- (Pro-only)