Facts:

• Shipment of 6,758 bags of Canadian wheat flour imported by Laguna Trading from Vancouver, Canada.
• Shipment arrived at the port of Manila on April 13, 1961.
• Discharged into the custody of the Manila Port Service, acting as the arrastre operator, a subsidiary of the Manila Railroad Company.
• Consignee filed a provisional claim for the shipment on the same day.
• Last package was discharged from the carrying vessel on April 15, 1961.
• Last delivery to the defendants was made on April 19, 1961.
• Defendants failed to deliver 248 bags to the consignee.
• Plaintiff, as the insurer, paid the consignee for the loss of the goods and filed a formal claim against the defendants.
• Defendants failed to pay, leading to the plaintiff filing a lawsuit for collection in the City Court of Manila.

Issue:

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Ruling:

• The court ruled in favor of the defendants, Manila Railroad Company and Manila Port Service.
• The court held that the provisional claim filed by the consignee two days before the discharge of the last package was premature and speculative, and therefore did not satisfy the requirement of the management contract...(Unlock)

Ratio:

• The court based its decision on previous cases that established the general rule that a provisional claim filed before the date of discharge of the last package from the carrying vessel is not a substantial compliance with the requirement of the management contract.
• The court referred to a previous case, New Hampshire Fire Insurance Co. v. Manila Port Service, et al., where it made a distinction between two situations.
• In the first situation, where the provisional claim is filed ahead of the date of discharge and the consignee has not yet examined or been informed of the condition of the shipment, the claim is c...continue reading