GR L 24064; (February, 1968) (Digest)
G.R. No. L-24064 February 29, 1968
RIZAL SURETY & INSURANCE, CO., plaintiff-appellant, vs. MACONDRAY & CO., INC., defendant-appellee.
FACTS
Plaintiff Rizal Surety & Insurance Company sought to recover from defendant Macondray & Co., Inc., as the authorized agent in Manila of Barber Steamship Line Inc., the sum of P2,000.00. This amount represented the maximum recoverable value under a bill of lading for machinery parts shipped from New York on the vessel “SS Tai Ping,” consigned to Edwardson Manufacturing Corporation in Manila. The goods were not discharged in Manila. The plaintiff, having paid the consignee pursuant to its insurance contract, filed suit against the carrier’s agent. The defendant raised the defense of prescription under the Carriage of Goods by Sea Act. The Court of First Instance of Manila dismissed the complaint based on this defense, prompting the plaintiff’s appeal.
ISSUE
Whether the one-year prescriptive period under Section 3(6) of the Carriage of Goods by Sea Act applies to bar the plaintiff’s action for non-delivery of the shipped goods, even when the goods were not discharged from the vessel.
RULING
Yes. The Supreme Court affirmed the dismissal of the complaint, holding that the one-year prescriptive period under the Carriage of Goods by Sea Act applies. The Court ruled that the provision contemplates both loss and damage, and specifically anticipates situations where delivery has not been made. In such cases, the one-year period is computed from “the date when the goods should have been delivered,” regardless of whether the non-delivery was due to the goods not being discharged from the vessel or for any other reason. The bill of lading itself expressly incorporated the provisions of the Carriage of Goods by Sea Act. The Court determined that the vessel left the Port of Manila on November 4, 1962, which was the last opportunity for delivery. The one-year period commenced on November 5, 1962, and expired on November 4, 1963. Since the action was filed on February 10, 1964, it was barred by prescription.