Back

Central Shipping Company vs Insurance Company Of North America

CENTRAL SHIPPING COMPANY, INC., Petitioner, versus INSURANCE COMPANY OF NORTH AMERICA, Respondent.

G.R. No. 150751 | 2004-09-20

DECISION


PANGANIBAN, J.:

A common carrier is presumed to be at fault or negligent. It shall be liable for the loss, destruction or deterioration of its cargo, unless it can prove that the sole and proximate cause of such event is one of the causes enumerated in Article 1734 of the Civil Code, or that it exercised extraordinary diligence to prevent or minimize the loss. In the present case, the weather condition encountered by petitioner's vessel was not a "storm" or a natural disaster comprehended in the law. Given the known weather condition prevailing during the voyage, the manner of stowage employed by the carrier was insufficient to...