Case Digest (G.R. No. 10907)
Facts:
Ong Jang Chuan v. Wise & Co. (Ltd.), G.R. No. 10907, January 29, 1916, Supreme Court, Trent, J., writing for the Court.Plaintiff-appellee Ong Jang Chuan sued defendant-appellant Wise & Co. (Ltd.) for damages for breach of a contract dated 29 July 1914 under which Wise & Co. agreed to sell 1,000 sacks of “Mano” brand flour to Ong at P11.05 per barrel, with 500 sacks to be delivered in September and 500 in October; payment was to be within 30 days from delivery. No deliveries were ever made.
The Court of First Instance of Manila found that Wise & Co. failed to perform because the “Mano” flour had to come from Australia and the Australian government, as a war measure, prohibited the exportation of flour; Wise & Co. therefore lacked sufficient stock to deliver. The trial court awarded plaintiff P1,237.50, plus interest and costs, as damages for breach of contract.
Wise & Co. appealed, assigning three alleged errors: (1) the contract was a perfected sale rather than an agreement to sell; (2) nonperformance was excused by a fortuitous event (the Australian export prohibition); and (3) the damages awarded were improper. In its printed brief before the Supreme Court the appellant argued mainly that the document was a sale subject to the law on fortuitous events and that the export ban excused performance. The Supreme Court limited the inquiry to whether the contract constituted a perfected sale and considered precedent on when a sale is perfecte...(Pro-only)
Issues:
- Was the contract between Ong Jang Chuan and Wise & Co. (Ltd.) a perfected sale (a sale in which the thing sold was physically segregated) or an executory agreement to sell?
- If the sale was not perfected, is Wise & Co. excused from liability by reason of a fortuitous event (the Australian government’s prohibition on exportation)?
- Was the trial court’s award of P1,237.50 (plus interest and cos...(Pro-only)
Ruling:
- (Pro-only)
Ratio:
- (Pro-only)
Doctrine:
- (Pro-only)