Case Digest: A.F. SANCHEZ BROKERAGE INC., v. THE HON. COURT OF APPEALS and FGU INSURANCE CORPORATION

A.F. SANCHEZ BROKERAGE INC., v. THE HON. COURT OF APPEALS and FGU INSURANCE CORPORATION

447 SCRA 427 (2004)

A common carrier is liable to the resulting damage to the goods if the improper packaging is known to the carrier or his employees or is apparent upon ordinary observation, but he nevertheless accepts the same without protest or exception.

Respondent FGU Insurance Corporation (FGU) brought an action for reimbursement against petitioner A.F. Sanchez Brokerage Inc. (Sanchez Brokerage) to collect the amount paid by the former to Wyeth-Suaco Laboratories Inc. (Wyeth-Suaco) as insurance payment for the goods delivered in bad condition.

A.F. Brokerage refused to admit liability for the damaged goods which it delivered from Philippines Skylanders, Inc. (PSI) to Wyeth-Suaco as it maintained that the damage was due to improper and insufficient export packaging, discovered when the sealed containers were opened outside the PSI warehouse.

The Regional Trial Court of Makati dismissed the said complaint; however, the decision was subsequently reversed and set aside by the Court of Appeals, finding that Sanchez Brokerage is liable for the carriage of cargo as a ―common carrier‖ by definition of the New Civil Code.

ISSUE:

Whether or not the FGU Insurance is liable for the delivery of the damaged goods

HELD:

As defined under Article 1732 of the Civil Code, common carriers are persons, corporations, firms or associations engaged in the business of carrying or transporting passengers or goods or both by land, water or air for compensation, offering their services to the public. It does not distinguish between one whose principal business activity is the carrying of goods and one who does such carrying only as an ancillary activity. The contention therefore of Sanchez Brokerage that it is not a common carrier but a customs broker whose principal function is to prepare the correct customs declaration and proper shipping documents as required by law is bereft of merit. It suffices that petitioner undertakes to deliver the goods for pecuniary consideration.

In this light, Sanchez Brokerage as a common carrier is mandated to observe, under Article 1733 of the Civil Code, extraordinary diligence in the vigilance over the goods it transports according to all the circumstances of each case. In the event that the goods are lost, destroyed or deteriorated, it is presumed to have been at fault or to have acted negligently, unless it proves that it observed extraordinary diligence.

The concept of ―extra-ordinary diligence‖ was explained in Compania Maritima v. Court of Appeals. The extraordinary diligence in the vigilance over the goods tendered for shipment requires the common carrier to know and to follow the required precaution for avoiding damage to or destruction of the goods entrusted to it for sale, carriage and delivery. It requires common carriers to render service with the greatest skill and foresight and ―to use all reasonable means to ascertain the nature and characteristics of goods tendered for shipment and to exercise due care in the handling and storage including such methods as their nature requires.

It was established that Sanchez Brokerage received the cargoes from the PSI warehouse in good order and condition and that upon delivery by petitioner some of the cargoes were found to be in bad order as noted in the Delivery Receipt and as indicated in the Survey and Destruction Report.

While paragraph no. 4 of Article 1734 of the Civil Code exempts a common carrier from liability if the loss or damage is due to the character of the goods or defects in the packaging or in the containers, the rule is that if the improper packaging is known to the carrier or his employees or is apparent upon ordinary observation, but he nevertheless accepts the same without protest or exception notwithstanding such condition, he is not relieved of liability for the resulting damage. If the claim of Sanchez Brokerage that some of the cartons were already damaged upon delivery to it were true, then it should naturally have received the cargo under protest or with reservation duly noted on the receipt issued by PSI but it made no such protest or reservation.