BillofLading:

Written acknowledgement of receipt of goods and agreement to transport them to a specific place to a person named or to his order or bearer.

Ambiguity is construed against the carrier, the contract being one of a dhesion.

Kinds of Bills of Lading

1. Negotiable Bill of Lading—one in which it is stated that the goods referred to therein will be delivered to the bearer, or to the order of any person named in such document.

2. Non-Negotiable Bill of Lading—the goods referred to therein will be delivered to a specified person.

3. Clean Bill of Lading—One which does not indicate any defect in the goods4. Foul Bill of Lading—Contains notation indicating that the goods are in bad condition.5. Spent Bill of Lading—Covers goods that have already been delivered by the carrier without a

surrender of a signed copy of the Lading.6. Through Bill of Lading—Issued by a carrier who is obliged to use the facilities of other carriers.7. On Board Bill of Lading—one in which it is stated that the goods have been received on board

the vessel which is to carry the goods.8. Received for Shipment Bill of Lading—it is stated that the goods have been received for

shipment with or without specifying the vessel by which the goods are to be shipped9. Custody Bill of Lading—issued by the carrier to whom the goods have been delivered for

shipment but the vessel indicated in the bill of lading which is to carry the goods has not yet reached the port where the goods are held for shipment.

10. Port Bill of Lading—one which is issued by the carrier to whom the goods have been delivered, and the vessel to carry the goods is already in the port where the goods are held for shipment.

ThreeFoldNatureofBillsofLading

1.Acontractinitselfandtheparties

areboundbyits

terms;

2.Areceipt;and

3.Asymbolofthecovered

byit

v.

Theyarealsodocumentsoftitle,andifnegotiablein

formtheycan

constitutenegotiabledocumentsoftitle.

Legaleffectofthe

Issuance

ofBill

of

Lading

Billofleadingconstitutethelegalevidenceofthecontractbetweentheshipperandthecarri

erbythecontentsofwhichthedisputeswhichmayariseregardingtheirexecution

andperformanceshallbedecided,noexception

beingadmissibleotherthanthoseoffalsity

and

materialerrorinthedrafting.

Effectofabsenceofbilloflading

Idoesnot

precludeliabilityonacontract

oftransportation.Thedisputeshallbedeterminedbythelegalproofswhichthepartiesmaypr

esent

insupportoftheirrespectiveclaims,accordingtothegeneralprovisionsestablishedinthe

Codefor

commercialcontracts.

Righttorefusepackages

Gen.Rule:commoncarriercannotordinarily

refuseto

carry

particularclassofgoodsto

theprejudiceofthetrafficinthosegoods.

Exception:However,underArt.365,carriersareauthorizedtorefusepackagesiftheyareunf

itfortransportation.

Timefordeliveryofgoods

Wherenoperiodfixed

Thecarriershallbeboundtoforwardthemin

thefirstshipmentofthe

same

orsimilargoods,whichhemakesto

thepointswherehemustdeliverthem.Should

henotdso,thedamagescaused

bythedelayshallbeforhisaccount.

Wherefordeliveryofgoods

Thecarriermustdeliverthegoodswithin

thetimefixed.Forfailureto

dso,thecarriersshallpay

theindemnitystipulatedinthebilloflading.Also,damagesshallbepaidifthecarrier

refusestopaythestipulatedindemnityor

isguiltyoffraudinthefulfillment

ofhisobligation.

Limitationastocarriers

liability(200Barexams)

(1).NoLiability

Thecarrierwillnotbeliableatallforthenegligentactsofitscrewandemployees.ThisisNUL

LandVOID

forbeingcontrarytopublicpolicy

(2).LimitedLiability

Regardlessofthevalueofthecargo,themaximumliabilityofthecarrierwillbe,forexample,

P500.ThisisVOIDforbeingcontrarytopublicpolicy.

(3).QualifiedLiability

stipulationinthebillofladinglimitingtheliabilityofthecarriertoavaluationunlessth

eshipperdeclaresahighervalueand

paysahigherrateoffreightisvalid.v.

However,thecarriercannotlimititsliabilityforinjuryto,orlossof,goodshippedwhere

suchinjuryor

loss

was

causedbyits

ownnegligence.

RecoveryofDamagesfromcarriersforcarriageofgoods:

(1)

Inter--islandigoodsarrivedindamagedcondition:

Ifdamageisapparent,theshippermust

fileaclaimimmediately.

IfdamageisNot

apparent

heshouldfileaclaimwithin24hoursfromdelivery.v.

Thefilingofclaimisaconditionprecedentforrecovery.v.

Iftheclaimisfiled,but

thecarrierrefusestopay:

Enforcecarriersliabilityin

courtbyfilingacase:

Within6yearsifnobillofladinghasbeenissued,

or

Within10yearsifabillofladinghasbeenissued.

(2)

OverseasWheregoodsarrivedinadamagedconditionfromaforeignporttoaPhilippinePortofEn

try:

Upondischargeofgoods,ifthedamageisapparentclaimshouldbefiledimmediately;

Ifdamageisnot

apparent,claimshouldbefiledwithin3daysfromdelivery.

Whenmayaconsigneeofgoodsabandonthegoodsandrecoverthevaluethereoffromthecarrier?

Inanyofthefollowingcases:

(1)

UnderArt.363,incaseofpartialnon--delivery,wheretheconsigneeprovesthathecannotmake

useofthegoodscapableofdelivery

independently

ofthosenotdelivered.

(2)

UnderArt.365,wherethegoodsarerendereduselessforsaleandconsumptionforthepurposefo

rwhichtheyareproperlydestined;or

(3)

UnderArt.371,wherethereisdelaythroughthefaultofthecarrier.

Twospecialsanctionsfortheenforcementbythecarrierofthepaymentofexpenses

andtransportationcharges.

(1)

Under

Art.374,judicialsaleofthegoodstransported;and

(2)

Under

Art.375,bycreatingalieninfavor

ofthecarrier

onthegoodstransported.

AITRANSPORTATION

Thenatureofan

airlinescontractofcarriagepartakesoftwotypes,namely:acontracttodeliveracargoormer

chandiseto

itsdestination,and

contractto

transportpassengersto

theirdestination.(BritishAirwaysvs.

CA,

285SCRA450)

Specialrulesonliabilities:

Incaseofflightdiversiondueto

bad

weatherorothercircumstancesbeyond

thepilotscontrol,therelationbetweenthecarrier

andthepassengerscontinuesuntilthelatter

hasbeenlandedat

theportofdestinationand

hasleftthecarrierspremises.Thecarriershould

necessarily

exerciseextraordinary

diligence

insafeguardingthe

comfort,convenience

andsafety

ofitsstrandedpassengersuntiltheyhavereachedtheirfinaldestination

(PhilAirlinesvs.CA;Sept15,1993)

Iisfirmlysettledthat

moraldamagesarerecoverableinsuitspredictedonbreachofacontract

ofcarriagewhereitisproved

thatthecarrierwasguilty

offraud

orbad

faith--inattentiontoandlackof

carefortheinterests

ofits

passengers

whoareentitledtoits

utmostconsideration,particularlyastotheirconvenience--amountto

badfaithwhichentitlesthepassengerto

anawardofmoraldamages(JapanAirlinesvs.Simangon,April22,2009)

Even

whereoverbookingofpassengersisallowedasacommercialpractice,theairlinecompanywoul

dstillbeguiltyofbadfaithandstillbeliablefordamagesifitdidnotproperlyinformpassen

gerthatitcouldbreachthecontractofcarriageeven

iftheywereconfirmedpassengers(

Zalamea

vs.CAGR104235)

Neglectormalfeasanceofthecarriersemployeescouldgivegroundforanactionfordamages.Pa

ssengershavearighttobetreated

bythecarriersemployeeswith

kindness,respect,courtesyanddueconsiderationandareentitledtobe

protectedagainstpersonalmisconduct,injuriouslanguage,indignitiesandabusesfromsuc

hemployees.

Anaircarrierisnotliableforthelossofbaggageinanamountinexcessofthelimitspecifiedi

nthetariffwhichwasfiledwiththe

properauthorities,suchtariffbeingbindingon

thepassengerregardless

ofthepassengers

lackofknowledgethereofor

assent

thereto.Inacontract

ofair

carriage,adeclarationbythepassengerofahighervalueis

neededtorecoveragreateramount.

Anopendatedticketconstitutesacompletecontractbetweenthecarrierandpassenger.Hence

theairlinecompanyisliableifit

refusedtoconfirmapassengersflight

reservation(Singsonvs.CA,GRNo.119995)

Anairlinecompanywhichissuedaconfirmedtickettoapassengercoveringsuccessivetripson

atripsondifferent

airlinescanbeheldliablefor

damagesoccasionedbybumpingoffbyoneofthesuccessiveairlines(LufthansaGermanAirline

svs.CA;GR.No.83612)

MARITIMECOMMERCE/

WATERTRANSPORTATION

Specialcontractofmaritimecommerce:

1.

Charterparty

2.

Billoflading

3.

Loanofbottomry/respondentia

4.

contractoftransportations

passengers

5.

Marineinsurance

VESSELS(ingeneral)extendstoeverythingfloatinginandonthe

water,builtinthe

formof

vessel

andusedfornavigation

regardlessofform,rightormotivepower.MERCHANTVESSELS--engagedinthe

transportationofpassengersandfreightfromone

porttoanotherorfromoneplaceto

another.

*Arevessels

realorpersonalproperty?

PERSONAL--buttheypartaketoacertain

extent,ofthenatureandconditionsofrealproperty,on

accountoftheirvalueand

importanceoftheworlofcommerce.