Chua Yek Hong v. Intermediate Appellate Court

Summary

This case involves a cargo shipping dispute where petitioner Chua Yek Hong sought to hold shipowner respondents liable for the loss of 1000 sacks of copra when their vessel was lost during inter-island shipping. The Supreme Court affirmed the Court of Appeals' dismissal of the complaint, applying the limited liability rule under Article 587 of the Code of Commerce. The Court ruled that since only the ship captain was found negligent (not the shipowner), the exception to limited liability did not apply. The Court clarified that Code of Commerce provisions govern shipowner liability matters not regulated by the Civil Code, and distinguished the case from foreign maritime trade precedents. The motion for reconsideration was denied as final, establishing the precedent for limited shipowner liability in local inter-island shipping absent proof of shipowner fault.