Case Digest (G.R. No. L-18639)
Facts:
Javier Security Special Watchman Agency and Concepcion D. Javier, in her own behalf and as guardian ad litem of the minors Claro D. Javier and Rene D. Javier, plaintiffs and appellants, v. Shell‑Craft & Button Corporation, defendant and appellee, G.R. No. L‑18639. January 31, 1963, the Supreme Court En Banc, Reyes, J.B.L., J., writing for the Court.Since 1954, Federico E. Javier, trading as the Javier Security Special Watchman Agency (a trade name only; not a corporation or partnership), had been furnishing guard services to Shell‑Craft & Button Corporation at P290.00 per month. The parties renewed the arrangement annually; the last renewal, dated 4 May 1956 (Exhibit 3), fixed the contract term to expire on 1 December 1957 and required that Javier supply at least two guards, pay their salaries and benefits, and furnish payrolls and time records.
Federico E. Javier died suddenly on 9 May 1957. On the same day, H. L. Swiryn, vice‑president and manager of Shell‑Craft, engaged another agency to guard the premises. Javier’s widow, Concepcion, who was then in Hong Kong, and the minor children brought suit for breach of contract and claimed damages for the unexpired term from 9 May to 1 December 1957.
The case was tried in the Court of First Instance of Manila, which, on 14 October 1958, dismissed the complaint, holding the contract to be intuitu personae and therefore not transmissible to the heirs. The plaintiffs appealed to the Court of Appeals, which remanded the case to the Supreme Court because only questions of law were involved. The Supreme Court then took up the legal...(Subscriber-Only)
Issues:
- Was the contract between Javier and Shell‑Craft intuitu personae — i.e., a contract entrusted to Federico E. Javier by reason of his personal qualifications and therefore not transmissible to ...(Subscriber-Only)
Ruling:
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Ratio:
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Doctrine:
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