- Petitioner
- Pastor
- Respondent
- Gaspar
- Citation
- G.R. No. 1256
- Court
- Supreme Court
- Division
- En Banc
- Ponente
- Willard, J.
- Decided
- October 23, 1903
Summary
Contract interpretation case where plaintiff Pastor claimed a November 1900 agreement with defendants created a partnership for operating vessels, and that the 1901 dissolution was fraudulently obtained. The Supreme Court affirmed the lower court's finding that the contract created only a creditor-debtor relationship, not a partnership. The Court analyzed contract language showing loan characteristics: explicit loan terminology, repayment obligations, pledge arrangements, and exclusion of existing partnership assets. Multiple evidentiary rulings were upheld, including proper application of the parol evidence rule. The case established important precedent on contract interpretation methodology and the distinction between partnership and loan arrangements in Philippine jurisprudence.