6. Peralta de Guerrero v. Madrigal Shipping Co. Inc.

FACTS:
On Nov. 1, 1949, Pacifico Acacio entered into a contract of carriage with Madrigal Shipping,
whereby for certain consideration the latter undertook to carry the former on its vessel "M.S.
Regulus" from Zamboanga to Manila. The vessel capsized during the voyage, which resulted in
the death of Pacifico. His wife and daughter filed a complaint for damages against Madrigal
Shipping, but was dismissed by the lower court due to prescription for being filed (on April 30,
1957) beyond the 6-year period of prescription for oral contracts.
ISSUE: W/N the dismissal of the complaint is proper - NO
HELD:
The Court considered that the complaint implied that there was a written contract by virtue of a
passenger ticket usually issued in contracts of carriage, therefore the prescription period is 10
and not 6 years. The case was remanded to the lower court for hearing on the merits, including
the presence of the written contract.
Where the complaint shows that appellants' cause of action is predicated on the failure of
appellee to comply with its contract of' carrying safely the deceased from one place to another, in
that the vessel on which he was riding belonging to appellee capsized because of the reckless
and imprudent manner it was managed and steered by its crew, it can be implied that the
transportation was undertaken by virtue of a written contract of carriage. It is a matter of
common knowledge that whenever a passenger boards a ship for transportation from one place
to another he is issued a ticket by the shipper which has all the elements of a written contract,
namely: (1) the consent of the contracting parties manifested by the fact that the passenger
boards the ship and the shipper consents or accepts him in the ship for transportation; (2) cause
or consideration which is the fare paid by the passenger as stated in the ticket; and (3) object,
which is the transportation of the passenger from the place of departure to the place of
destination which are stated in the ticket.