Yu Biao Sontua vs. Ossorio. GR No.
17690, June 14, 1922
Facts:
On the evening of the 13th of March, 1920, a fire broke out on board the motor boat
Alfonso when this boat was in the Pasig River, City of Manila, ready to weigh anchor. A short
distance from the Alfonso the steamer Y. Sontua was lying alongside moored to the wharf of
said river. The fire in the motor boat Alfonso spread to the steamer Y. Sontua, causing damages
to her deck, accordingly, amounting to P67,400.
Yu Biao Sontua, which is a regular partnership and the owner of the steamer Y. Sontua,
brought this action to recover from the owner and agent of said motor boat Alfonso, the
aforementioned sum as indemnity for the damages to have been sustained by him through the
negligence of the agents and employees of the defendant.
Issues:
1) Was the explosion in question due to the negligence of the persons in charge of the
motor boat Alfonso?
2) If yes, is Ossorio, as owner of the motor boat Alfonso, liable for the negligence of his
agents and employees?
Ruling:
Yes. The explosion and fire in the said motor boat is imputable to the negligence of the
persons having charge at that time of said motor boat and under whose direction the loading of
the aforesaid cases of petroleum and gasoline had been performed. Ossorio, as owner of the
motor boat Alfonso, liable for the negligence of his agents and employees
Ratio Decidendi:
It was proven that the fire in said motor boat burst out with an explosion followed by a
violent expulsion of gasoline and petroleum, and owing to the proximity of the motor boat to the
steamer Y. Sontua, the magnitude of the fire and the inflammability of the material that served
as fuel, the fire spread to the said steamer Y. Sontua, and so rapidly that it was impossible for
the crew of the Y. Sontua to check its progress,
Expert testimony was also introduced to the effect that it is but natural that there is
bound to be a leakage due to the several transhipments of gasoline and petroleum, and also
that the loading is effected by means of straps which, quite frequently, receive violent bumps
resulting in damage to the cans and the consequent leakage of either gasoline or petroleum, as
the case may be.
Under these circumstances the Court was constrained to hold that the fire which caused
the damages for which the plaintiff seeks to be indemnified was the inevitable effect of the
explosion and fire which occurred in the motor boat Alfonso; that this explosion and fire in the
said motor boat is, with good ground, imputable to the negligence of the persons having charge
at that time of said motor boat and under whose direction the loading of the aforesaid cases of
petroleum and gasoline had been performed.
As to the second issue, this principle was upheld by the Court: Where the vessel is one
of freight, a public concern or public utility, its owner or agent is liable for the tortious acts of his
agents (arts. 587, 613, and 618, Code of Commerce; and arts. 1902, 1903, 1908, Civil Code).
The general liability of a vessel owner extends to losses by fire arising from other than a
natural or other excepted cause, whether occurring on the ship accidentally, or communicated
from another vessel, or from the shore; and the fact that fire produces the motive power of a
boat does not affect the case. Such losses are not within the exceptions either of act of God, or
peril of the sea, except by local custom, unless proximately caused by one of these events. In
jurisdictions where the civil law obtains, however, it has been held that if property on a
steamboat is destroyed by fire, the owners of the boat are not responsible, if it was being
navigated with proper diligence, although the accident occurred at night. The common law
liability extends even to loss by fires caused entirely by spontaneous combustion of the cargo,
without any negligence on the part of master or crew.
