TAN CHIONG SIAN, plaintiff-appellee,

vs.
INCHAUSTI AND CO., defendant-appellant.
G.R. No. L-6092
March 8, 1912

Topic: Exempting Causes/Contributory Negligence

 Merchandise shall be transported at the risk and venture of the shipper, unless the
contrary was expressly stipulated.

Therefore, all damages and impairment suffered by the goods in transportation, by reason
of accident, force majeure, or by virtue of the nature or defect of the articles, shall be for
the account and risk of the shipper.

The proof of these accidents is incumbent on the carrier. (Art. 361, Code of Commerce)

 The carrier, however, shall be liable for the losses and damages arising from the causes
mentioned in the foregoing article if it is proved that they occurred on account of his
negligence or because he did not take the precautions usually adopted by careful persons,
unless the shipper committed fraud in the bill of lading, stating that the goods were of a
class or quality different from what they really were.

If, notwithstanding the precaution referred to in this article, the goods transported run the
risk of being lost on account of the nature or by reason of an unavoidable accident,
without there being time for the owners of the same to dispose thereof, the carrier shall
proceed to their sale, placing them for this purpose at the disposal of the judicial authority
or of the officials determined by special provisions. (Art. 362, Code of Commerce)

Facts:
 Sometime in November 1908, plaintiff Tan Chiong Sian delivered to the defendant 205
bundles or cases of general merchandise belonging to him, which defendant company
bound to deliver in Catarman, Province of Samar, to Chinaman, Ong Bieng Sip.
 Said merchandise was placed on board the steamer Sorsogon for shipment to the port of
Gubat, Sorsogon and from said port, to be transferred to another vessel owned by the
defendant company for transportation to the port of Catarman, Samar.
 On December 4, 1908, the vessel Iorcha Pilar arrived at Gubat and the goods were taken
aboard the same, together with other merchandise belonging to the defendant company,
for the purpose of transportation to the port of Catarman.
 Before the said vessel could leave, a strong wind arose which in the course of the day
increased in force until early in the morning of the following day, due to the force of the
storm, the vessel was dragged and driven upon the shore despite the means employed by
the crew to avoid the accident and notwithstanding the five anchors that held the craft,
which was also wrecked and completely destroyed, including the 205 bundles or
packages taken aboard for the said Chinaman.
 The defendant company, with the greatest possible diligence, gathered up the said
shipwrecked goods but owing to the damage they had suffered, it was impossible to
preserve them. Thus, the defendant company proceeded, in the presence of a notary, to
sell them at public auction and realized from the sale thereof P1,693.67, which amount
offered by defendant to the plaintiff.

Issue:
Whether the defendant company is relieved from responsibility on the ground of force
majeure.

Ruling:
Yes. Pursuant to Article 361 of the Code of Commerce, merchandise shall be transported
at the risk and venture of the shipper, unless the contrary be expressly stipulated. No such
stipulation appears on record, therefore, all damages and impairment suffered by the goods in
transportation, by reason of accident, force majeure, or by virtue of the nature or defect of the
articles, are for the account and risk of the shipper.

In the case at bar, to ensure that there was no negligence or delay in the shipment of
merchandise, all that was done by the defendant company was what it regularly and usually did
in the transportation by sea from Manila to Catarman of all classes of merchandise. It is
undisputed and admitted by the plaintiff, that the vessel was stranded and wrecked as a result of a
violent storm that came from the Pacific Ocean. The record bears no proof that the said loss or
damage occurred through carelessness or negligence on the part of the defendant company, its
agents or the patron of the said vessel, or because they did not take the precautions usually
adopted by careful and diligent persons, as required by Article 362 of the Code of Commerce.

The defendant company, as well as its agents, had a natural interest in preserving the craft
and its own goods found therein — an interest equal to that of the Chinese shipper in preserving
his own which were on board the ship — and, in fact, the defendant and his agents did take the
measures which they deemed necessary and proper in order to save the vessel and its cargo from
the impending danger. In view of the fact that the vessel had no means of changing its
anchorage, even supposing that there was a better one, and was unable to accept help from any
steamer that might have towed it to another point, as wherever it might have anchored, it would
continually have been exposed to the lashing of the waves and to the fury of the hurricane, for
the port of Gubat is a cove or open roadstead with no shelter whatever from the winds that sweep
over it from the Pacific Ocean.

Moreover, it is noteworthy that subsequent to the wreck, the defendant company’s agents
took all the necessary measures for the salvage of such of the goods as could be recovered after
the accident, which he did with the knowledge of the shipper and in effecting their sale, he
endeavored to secure all possible advantage to the Chinese shipper. In all these proceedings, as
shown by the record, the defendant company acted in obedience to the law. In view of the
foregoing, it is concluded that the defendant is not liable for the loss and damage of the goods
shipped on the vessel, inasmuch as such loss and damage were the result of a fortuitous event
or force majeure, and there was no negligence or lack of care and diligence on the part of the
defendant company or its agents.