Lopez v. Del Rosario

44 PHIL 98

Facts:

>  Benita Del Rosario is the owner of a bonded warehouse in Manila where copra and other merchandise are deposited.

>  Among those who had copra deposited in the warehouse was Froilan Lopez, the owner of 14 warehouse receipts with a declared value of P107,990.40 in his name.

>  Del Rosario secured insurance on the warehouse and its contents with 5 different insurance companies in the amount of P404,800.

>  All policies were in the name of Del Rosario, except for one (with Nat’l Insurance Co.) for 40T, in favor of Compania Copra de Tayabas.

>  The warehouse and its contents were destroyed by fire.  When Bayne, a fire loss adjuster, failed to effect a settlement between the Insurance companies and Del Rosario, the latter authorized Atty. Fisher to negotiate with the Companies.

>  An agreement was reached to submit the matter to arbitration.  The claims by different people who had stored copra in the warehouse were settled with the exception of Friolan Lopez.

>  A case was filed in CFI by Lopez.  The court awarded him the sum of P88,492.21 with legal interest.

Issue:

Whether or not Del Rosario acted as the agent of Lopez in taking out the insurance on the contents of the warehouse or whether she acted as the reinsurer of the copra.

Held: 

She acted as the agent of Lopez.

The agency can be deduced from the warehouse receipts, the insurance policies and the circumstances surrounding the transaction.  Under any aspect, Del Rosario is liable.  The law is that a policy effected by a bailee and covering by its terms in his own property and property held in trust, inures, in the event of loss, equally and proportionately to the benefit of all owners of the property insured.  Even if one secured insurance covering his own goods and goods stored with him, and even if the owner of the stored goods did not request or know the insurance, and did not ratify it before the payment of the loss, it has been held by a reputable court that the warehouseman is liable to the owner of such stored goods for his share.

In a case of contributing policies, adjustments of loss made by an expert or by a board of arbitrators may be submitted to the court NOT as evidence of the facts stated therein, or as obligatory, but for the purpose of assisting the court in calculating the amount of liability.