Case Digest (G.R. No. L-73918)
Facts:
This is Tong Brothers Co. v. Intermediate Appellate Court and Juliano and Company, G.R. No. 73918, promulgated December 21, 1987, the Supreme Court Third Division, Gutierrez, Jr., J., writing for the Court. The petition seeks certiorari review of the Intermediate Appellate Court's (now Court of Appeals) decision in AC-G.R. No. 68505 that affirmed the Court of First Instance of Cotabato's judgment awarding P907,220.66 (including attorney's fees) to Juliano & Company, Inc. (private respondent).Tong Brothers Co. (petitioner), doing business as Varadero de Recodo, operates a shipyard in Recodo, Zamboanga del Sur. Juliano & Company, Inc. (private respondent) is a coastwise shipping company and owner of the vessel M/S Zamboanga-J. In December 1974 Juliano brought the Zamboanga-J to the petitioner’s yard for drydocking and allegedly for repair. Juliano claimed an oral longstanding practice between the parties: vessels were drydocked, repaired and billed after completion; it paid P15,000 on December 28, 1974 and the petitioner commenced certain works (removal of rudders, tail shafts, opening planking) but later undocked the vessel on February 4, 1975 and abandoned further repairs, leaving the vessel to deteriorate until it became a total loss.
Petitioner denied a perfected contract to repair Zamboanga-J. It maintained that past transactions had been sporadic, that P15,000 represented partial settlement of earlier accounts, that it had insisted on a written contract and an initial P50,000 downpayment before undertaking extensive repairs, and that it repeatedly demanded the presence of Juliano’s authorized representative to evaluate the ship before starting full repairs. The petitioner also contended that many of the acts relied upon by Juliano were inspection procedures and not commencement of repair work, and that Juliano abandoned the vessel after it was undocked.
The Court of First Instance ruled for Juliano & Company, awarding P450,000 as the value of the lost vessel; P542,220.66 as unrealized net income for five years; P10,000 counsel fees; P5,000 expenses; and costs. The Intermediate Appellate Court affirmed but reduced the vessel’s value to P350,000. ...(Subscriber-Only)
Issues:
- Was there a perfected contract between Tong Brothers Co. and Juliano & Company, Inc. for the repair of the M/S Zamboanga-J?
- If no perfected contract existed, was the proximate cause of the vessel’s total loss the petitioner’s breach or the private respondent’s negligence, affecting entitlement to damages?
- Was the petitioner required to consign the vessel or otherwise responsible for its safekeeping once Julian...(Subscriber-Only)
Ruling:
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Ratio:
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Doctrine:
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