G.R. No. L-54140 – 145 SCRA 42 – Mercantile Law – Insurance Law – The Policy – Prescription of Filing of Insurance Cases
In 1976, Choa Tiek Seng contracted Frota Oceanica Brasiliera for the latter to deliver goods. Choa Tiek Seng insured the goods with Filipino Merchants Insurance Company. The goods left the port of Manila on December 13, 1976 and reached its point of destination on December 17, 1976. The goods were however damaged.
Choa Tiek Seng then filed an insurance claim. Filipino Merchants refused to pay so in August 1977, it was sued by Choa Tiek Seng. In January 1978, Filipino Merchants filed a third party complaint against the carrier Frota Oceanica Brasiliera as it alleged that it is the carrier who is liable to pay damages to Choa Tiek Seng. Judge Jose Alejandro of the trial court ruled against Filipino Merchants. The Court of Appeals affirmed the ruling of the judge. The lower courts ruled that Filipino Merchants is already barred from filing a claim because under the Carriage of Goods by Sea Act, the suit against the carrier must be filed “within one year after delivery of the goods or the date when the goods should have been delivered” or one year from December 17, 1976. The insurance company is already barred for it filed its third party complaint only in January 1978.
ISSUE: Whether or not Filipino Merchants is precluded by the said time-bar rule.
HELD: Yes. The pertinent provision of the Carriage of Goods by Sea Act does not only apply to the shipper but also applies to the insurer. The coverage of the Carriage of Goods by Sea Act includes the insurer of the goods. Otherwise, what the Act intends to prohibit after the lapse of the one year prescriptive period can be done indirectly by the shipper or owner of the goods by simply filing a claim against the insurer even after the lapse of one year. This would be the result if the insurer can, at any time, proceed against the carrier and the ship since it is not bound by the time-bar provision. In this situation, the one year limitation will be practically useless. This could not have been the intention of the law which has also for its purpose the protection of the carrier and the ship from fraudulent claims by having “matters affecting transportation of goods by sea be decided in as short a time as possible” and by avoiding incidents which would “unnecessarily extend the period and permit delays in the settlement of questions affecting the transportation.”
