Dingcong vs.

Kanaan
G.R. No. L-47033 (April 25, 1941)
Facts: The Dingcong brothers leased the upper floor of house owned by Emilia Sae
nz, where they established and managed the Central Hotel. A guest by the n
ame of Francisco
Echivarria occupied Room No. 10 of the hotel for P30. Kanaan, on the other hand,
occupies the ground floor the house of Saenz and where they established a store
named "American Bazaar" dedicated to the buy and sell of articles and merchandi
se.
Echivarria, before going to bed, let his faucet leak while the pipes of the hote
l were undergoing repairs. A bucket was placed underneath the leaking faucet to
catch the dripping water, but still the bucket overflowed. Water seeped through
the floor and the merchandise in the bazaar below got wet and caused damages wor
th around P1,000.00 (considerable amount in 1941). The Kanaans brought an action
for damages against the managers, the brothers Dingcong, and Echivarria. During
trial one of the Dingcong brothers died, but suit continued against the survivi
ng Dingcong.
Issue: Whether or not Jose Dingcong and Francisco Echevarria are liable for dama
ges.
Held: Francisco Echevarria, the hotel guest, is liable for being the one who, by
his negligence in leaving the faucet open, caused the water to spill on the gro
und and wet the articles and merchandise of the Kanaans.
Jose Dingcong, the surviving co-renter and manager of the hotel, had complete po
ssession of the house, and consequently must also be responsible for the damages
caused. As a co-lessee and manager of the hotel, the Dingcongs have to answer f
or the damage caused by things that thrown or falling from the hotel (Art. 1910
of the Codigo Civil).
The Dingcongs likewise failed to exercise the diligence of a good father of the
family to prevent the damages. They knew that the pipes of the hotel were under
repair, as managers, they should have presumed that the guest Echivarria would u
se the faucet, but only provided a bucket to deal with the problem of the leaks.