Monday, March 21, 2011

CASE DIGEST (Transportation Law): C.B. Williams vs. Yangco

C. B. WILLIAMS vs. TEODORO R. YANGCO
G.R. No. L-8325. March 10, 1914

FACTS:
The steamer Subic, owned by the defendant, collided with the lunch Euclid owned by the plaintiff, in the Bay of Manila at an early hour on the morning of January 9, 1911, and the Euclid sank five minutes thereafter. This action was brought to recover the value of the Euclid.

The court below held from the evidence submitted that the Euclid was worth at a fair valuation P10,000; that both vessels were responsible for the collision; and that the loss should be divided equally between the respective owners, P5,000 to be paid the plaintiff by the defendant, and P5,000 to be borne by the plaintiff himself. From this judgment both defendant and plaintiff appealed.

ISSUE:
Whether or not plaintiff should not be held liable on account of doctrine of last clear chance—the defendant having the last opportunity to avoid the collision.

HELD:
No.
In cases of a disaster arising from the mutual negligence of two parties, the party who has a last clear opportunity of avoiding the accident, notwithstanding the negligence of his opponent, is considered wholly responsible for it under the common-law rule of liability as applied in the courts of common law of the United States. But this rule (which is not recognized in the courts of admiralty in the United States, wherein the loss is divided in cases of mutual and concurring negligence, as also where the error of one vessel has exposed her to danger of collision which was consummated by he further rule, that where the previous application by the further rule, that where the previous act of negligence of one vessel has created a position of danger, the other vessel is not necessarily liable for the mere failure to recognize the perilous situation; and it is only when in fact it does discover it in time to avoid the casualty by the use of ordinary care, that it becomes liable for the failure to make use of this last clear opportunity to avoid the accident. (See cases cited in Notes, 7 Cyc., pp. 311, 312, 313.) So, under the English rule which conforms very nearly to the common-law rule as applied in the American courts, it has been held that the fault of the first vessel in failing to exhibit proper lights or to take the proper side of the channel will relieve from liability one who negligently runs into such vessels before he sees it; although it will not be a defense to one who, having timely warning of the danger of collision, fails to use proper care to avoid it. (Pollock on Torts, 374.). In the case at bar, the most that can be said in support of plaintiff's contention is that there was negligence on the part of the officers on defendant's vessel in failing to recognize the perilous situation created by the negligence of those in charge of plaintiff's launch, and that had they recognized it in time, they might have avoided the accident. But since it does not appear from the evidence that they did, in fact, discover the perilous situation of the launch in time to avoid the accident by the exercise of ordinary care, it is very clear that under the above set out limitation to the rule, the plaintiff cannot escape the legal consequences of the contributory negligence of his launch, even were we to hold that the doctrine is applicable in the jurisdiction, upon which point we expressly reserve our decision at this time.



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