G.R. No. L-24861. October 29, 1971
ST. PAUL FIRE & MARINE INSURANCE COMPANY, PLAINTIFF-APPELLANT, VS. UNITED STATES LINES COMPANY, AMERICAN PIONEER LINE, MANILA PORT SERVICE AND/OR MANILA RAILROAD COMPANY, DEFEND…
MAKALINTAL, J.:
This is an appeal from the order of the Court of First Instance
of Manila, dated February 20, 1965, in its Civil Case No. 46766 dismissing the
complaint for failure of the plaintiff’s authorized representative or its
counsel to appear at the scheduled pre-trial conference.
On April 14, 1961 the St. Paul Fire & Marine Insurance
Company, as subrogee of Winthrop Products, Inc., of New York, filed a complaint
in the court a quo praying “for judgment against defendants
American Pioneer Line and/or its agent United States Lines Company, jointly and
solidarily, or, in the alternative, against defendants Manila Port Service
and/or Manila Railroad Company,*
for the prevailing value in Philippine currency of the loss sustained by the
plaintiff in paying the assured the sum of $1,005.15, U.S. currency, with legal
interest thereon, plus costs.” The said amount of $1,005.15 represents the
value of one (1) steel drum of Cortal granulation bulk shipped by Winthrop
Products, Inc., of New York to Winthrop-Stearns, Inc., Manila, and allegedly
lost either while still in transit, that is, in the hands of the shipping line,
or after it was unloaded and delivered to the custody of the arrastre operator,
Manila Port Service. Within the
reglementary period, the alternative defendants, namely, the carrier and its
agent on one hand, and the arrastre operator and its principal on the other,
filed their respective answers disclaiming liability for the alleged loss.
The case was first dismissed on October 24, 1964 for lack of
interest on the part of the plaintiff to prosecute. On November 11, 1964 the trial court, on
motion, reconsidered the dismissal and reinstated the case on condition that
its order of August 9, 1963 regarding the submission of a stipulation of facts
be complied with so as to expedite the disposition of the case. Complying with the order, the plaintiff on
December 7, 1964 submitted the proposed stipulation of facts signed by its
counsel and by counsel for the defendants United States Lines Company and
American Pioneer Lines, and moved to set the case for pre-trial conference on
December 19, 1964 “for purposes of having the above-mentioned proposed
‘Stipulation of Facts’ ratified by counsel for the Manila Railroad and also for
purposes of formally submitting the documentary evidence which have been duly
marked in the course of the hearing of this case.” Since the plaintiff’s
motion was not acted upon, it again moved to set the case for pre-trial, this
time on January 30, 1965. The trial
court granted the motion, but on the scheduled date the parties through their
respective counsel agreed to postpone the pre-trial conference to February 20,
1965.
Before the date agreed upon, or on February 11, 1965, the
defendants Manila Port Service and Manila Railroad Company filed a motion to
dismiss on the ground that the court was without jurisdiction over the subject
matter insofar as they were concerned, since the cause of action against them
did not involve admiralty and the amount claimed was not more than P10,000.00.* The motion was heard on February 13,
1965. Upon request of the plaintiff’s
counsel, the trial court gave him ten (10) days from February 13, 1965 within
which to file his opposition. Before
the expiration of the period granted the plaintiff’s counsel asked for an
extension of ten (10) days from February 23, 1965 within which to file such
opposition, but no action was taken on the motion.
On February 20, 1965, the date set for the pre-trial conference,
neither the plaintiff’s authorized representative nor its counsel appeared in
court. Upon motion of counsel for the
defendants Manila Port Service and Manila Railroad Company, the trial court
declared the plaintiff non-suited and ordered the dismissal of the case, thus:
“Considering that this case had once been dismissed, that is,
on October 24, 1964, for lack of interest on the part of the plaintiff because
it has not prosecuted the action for an unreasonable length of time, although
the order therefor was later reconsidered and set aside, and taking into
account that at this scheduled pre-trial, despite notice, neither plaintiff nor
its counsel appeared, the Court, pursuant to the provisions of Rule 20, Section
2 of the Rules of Court, declares the plaintiff non-suited and orders that the
instant case be dismissed, without costs.”
Unable to secure a reconsideration of the order of dismissal, the
plaintiff interposed the instant appeal.
The appellees United States Lines Company and American Pioneer Line did
not file a brief but merely adopted that of the appellees Manila Port Service
and Manila Railroad Company.
The only issue to be resolved in this appeal is the propriety of
the dismissal of the complaint for failure of the appellant and its counsel to
appear at the pre-trial conference.
As against the appellees United States Lines Company and American
Pioneer Line, the trial court correctly dismissed the case. The motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction
filed by the alternative defendants Manila Port Service and Manila Railroad
Company did not necessarily relieve the appellant of its duty to attend the
pre-trial insofar as two shipping companies were concerned inasmuch as the
question of jurisdiction alleged in the motion to dismiss did not affect
them. Under Sections 1 and 2, Rule 20 of
the Rules of Court[1]
pre-trial is mandatory. The parties as
well as their counsel are required to appear thereat and the dismissal of the
suit for non-appearance of the appellant at the pre-trial is sanctioned by the
Rules.[2]
But regardless of this procedural point, under Paragraph 6 of
the Stipulation of Facts signed by counsel for the appellant and by counsel for
the appellees United States Lines Company and American Pioneer Line, the said
appellees were absolved from any liability for the loss of one (1) drum of
Cortal granulation bulk, it being stated therein “that the 92 drums were
discharged all in good order and condition into the custody of the Manila Port
Service; and that under the terms of the covering Bill of Lading, the vessel’s
responsibility for the cargo ceased upon discharge thereof ex the ship’s
tackle; . . . .” On the basis of said stipulation, the said appellees
could have asked for the dismissal of the case as against them at the scheduled
pre-trial conference.
As against the appellees Manila Port Service and Manila Railroad
Company, the trial court erred in dismissing the complaint. In the first place, it was improper for said
appellees to ask the trial court to declare the appellant non-suited for
failure to appear at the pre-trial conference while in the same breath they
were questioning its jurisdiction to try and decide the case. Secondly, insofar as said appellees are
concerned, the trial court should have resolved first the question of
jurisdiction before proceeding with the pre-trial conference. Otherwise, in the event that it should find
itself without jurisdiction and ultimately dismiss the complaint on that
ground, all proceedings held would have been useless and a waste of time. Lastly, the trial court’s order giving appellant’s
counsel a period of ten (10) days from February 13, 1965, or until February 23,
1965, within which to file his opposition to the motion to dismiss, in effect,
superseded the agreement of the parties to hold a pre-trial conference on
February 20, 1965 insofar as said appellees were concerned.
WHEREFORE, the trial court’s order of dismissal is hereby
set aside and the case remanded below for further proceedings with respect to
the appellees Manila Port Service and Manila Railroad Company, and affirmed
with respect to the appellees United States Lines Company and American Pioneer
Line. Costs against the Manila Port
Service and the Manila Railroad Company, now the Philippine National Railways.
Concepcion, C.J., Reyes, Zaldivar, Castro, Fernando, Teehankee,
Barredo, Villamor, and Makasiar, JJ., concur.
* Now the
Philippine National Railways.
* The rule is
now settled that in the joinder of two causes of action, in the alternative,
under section 5 of Rule 2 of the Rules of Court, the fact that one of the
causes of action is within the exclusive jurisdiction of the city or municipal
court, will not deprive the Court of First Instance of its jurisdiction over
both if the latter has jurisdiction over one of the causes of action. (Domestic Insurance Co. of the Philippines vs.
Everett Siam Line, L-23878, July 31, 1970, 34 SCRA 80, citing Firemen’s
Insurance Co. vs. Manila Port Service, L-22810, August 31, 1967, 20 SCRA
1273. See also American Ins. Co. vs.
Macondray & Co. Inc., L-24031, August 19, 1967, 20 SCRA 1103; United
Insurance Company, Inc. vs. Royal Inter-ocean Lines, et al., L-22688,
April 27, 1967, 19 SCRA 879; Firemen’s Fund Insurance Co. vs. Cia.
General de Tabaco de Filipinas, et al., L-22625, April 27, 1967, 19 SCRA 874;
Hanover Insurance Company vs. MPS, et al., L-20976, January 23, 1967,
19 SCRA 69; Insurance Co. of North America vs. U.S. Lines Co., L-21021,
May 27, 1966, 17 SCRA 301; Rizal Surety & Insurance Co. vs. MRR
Co., et al., L-29875, April 30, 1966 (16 SCRA 912) Switzerland General Insurance
Co., Ltd. vs. Java Pacific and Hoegh Lines and the Manila Railroad Co.,
L-21760, April 30, 1966, 16 SCRA 916).
[1]
SECTION 1. Pre-trial mandatory.
– In any action, after the last pleading has been filed, the court shall direct
the parties and their attorneys to appear before it for a conference x x x.
SECTION 2. Failure to appear at
pre-trial conference. – A party who fails to appear at a
pre-trial conference may be non-suited or considered as in default.
[2]
International Harvester Macleod, Inc. vs. Co Ban Ling & Sons Co.,
L-26863, October 26, 1968, 25 SCRA 612, and the cases cited.