GR 184513; (March, 2016) (Digest)
G.R. No. 184513 . March 09, 2016
DESIGNER BASKETS, INC., PETITIONER, VS. AIR SEA TRANSPORT, INC. AND ASIA CARGO CONTAINER LINES, INC., RESPONDENTS.
FACTS
Petitioner Designer Baskets, Inc. (DBI), a domestic corporation, received an order from Ambiente, a foreign-based company, for 223 cartons of assorted wooden items worth US$12,590.87. Ambiente designated respondent Asia Cargo Container Lines, Inc. (ACCLI) as the forwarding agent to ship the goods to the United States. ACCLI is the agent in the Philippines of respondent Air Sea Transport, Inc. (ASTI), a U.S.-based carrier. On January 7, 1996, DBI delivered the shipment to ACCLI, which issued ASTI Bill of Lading No. AC/MLLA601317. DBI retained the original bills of lading pending payment from Ambiente. On January 23, 1996, Ambiente and ASTI entered into an Indemnity Agreement wherein ASTI obligated itself to deliver the shipment to Ambiente without surrender of the bills of lading, and Ambiente undertook to indemnify ASTI. ASTI subsequently released the shipment to Ambiente without DBI’s knowledge and without DBI receiving payment. DBI’s demands for payment from Ambiente were unavailing. DBI filed a complaint for sum of money and damages against ASTI, ACCLI, and ACCLI’s incorporators-stockholders, alleging that under the bill of lading, the carrier was to release the cargo only upon surrender of the original bill of lading. The trial court held ASTI, ACCLI, and Ambiente solidarity liable to DBI. On appeal, the Court of Appeals affirmed Ambiente’s liability but absolved ASTI and ACCLI from liability.
ISSUE
Whether respondents ASTI and ACCLI are liable to petitioner DBI for the value of the shipment released to the consignee without surrender of the original bills of lading.
RULING
No. The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the Court of Appeals absolving ASTI and ACCLI from liability. The Court held that the relationship between DBI and ASTI/ACCLI is that of shipper and common carrier, governed by the contract of carriage embodied in the bill of lading. The bill of lading in this case did not contain any stipulation that the carrier would only deliver the goods upon presentation of the original bill of lading. In the absence of such a stipulation, the carrier’s obligation under Article 1736 of the Civil Code is to deliver the goods to the consignee named in the bill of lading, which ASTI did. The Indemnity Agreement between ASTI and Ambiente did not bind DBI, as DBI was not a party thereto. The cause of DBI’s loss was Ambiente’s failure to pay, not the carrier’s release of the goods. Consequently, ASTI and ACCLI, as common carrier and agent, respectively, were not liable for the value of the shipment. The liability for payment rests solely with the buyer, Ambiente.