THE HOME INSURANCE COMPANY, Petitioner , vs. EASTERN SHIPPING LINES and/or ANGEL JOSE TRANSPORTATION, INC. Respondent . G. R. L-34382, July 20, 1983 FACTS:
On or about January 13, 1967, S. Kajikita & Co. on board the SS „Eastern Jupiter,‟ which is owned by the respondent, from Osaka, Japan coils of “Black Hot Rolled Copper Wires Rods.” The shipment was covered by Bill of Lading with arrival notice to the Phelps Dodge Copper Products Corporation, the consignee. It was also insured with the plaintiff against all risks in the amount of P1,580,105.06. The coils discharged from the vessel were in bad order, consisting of loose and partly cut coils which had to be considered scrap. The plaintiff paid the consignee under insurance the amount of P3,260.44 for the loss/damage suffered by the cargo. Plaintiff, a foreign insurance company duly authorized to do business in the Philippines, made demands for payment of the aforesaid amount against the carrier and transportation company for reimbursement of the aforesaid amount, but each refused to pay the same. The Eastern Shipping Lines filed its answer and denied the allegations of Paragraph I which refer to the plaintiff‟s capacity to sue for lack of knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to the truth thereof. Angel Jose Transportation, on the other hand, admitted the jurisdictional averments in paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 of the heading parties. The Court of First Instance dismissed the complaint on the ground that the appellant had failed to prove its capacity to sue. The petitioner then filed a petition for review on certiorari. ISSUE: Whether or not that the trial court erred in dismissing the finding that plaintiff-appellant has no
capacity to sue. RULING:
The court held that the objective of the law is to subject the foreign corporation to the jurisdiction of our court. The Corporation Law must be given reasonable, not an unduly harsh interpretation which does not hamper the development of trade relations and which fosters friendly commercial intercourse among countries. Counsel for appellant contends that at the time of the service of summons, the appellant had not yet been authorized to do business. But, the lack of capacity at the time of the execution of the contracts was cured by the subsequent registration is also strengthened by the procedural aspects of the case. The court find the general denials inadequate to attack the foreign corporations lack of capacity to sue in the light of its positive averment that it is authorized to do so. Section 4, Rule 8 requires that "a party desiring to raise an issue as to the legal existence of any party or the capacity of any party to sue or be sued in a representative capacity shall do so by specific denial, which shall include such supporting particulars as are particularly within the pleader's knowledge. At the very least, the private respondents should have stated particulars in their answers upon which a specific denial of the petitioner's capacity to sue could have been based or which could have supported its denial for lack of knowledge. And yet, even if the plaintiff's lack of capacity to sue was not properly raised as an issue by the answers, the petitioner introduced documentary evidence that it had the authority to engage in the insurance business at the time it filed the complaints. The Supreme Court granted the petition, reversing the decision of the lower court. Home Insurance Company vs. Eastern Shipping Lines [GR L-34382, 20 July 1983]; Home Insurance vs. Nedlloyd Lijnen [GR L-34383] Facts: [GR L-34382] On or about 13 January 1967, S. Kajita & Co., on behalf of Atlas Consolidated
Mining & Development Corporation, shipped on board the SS Eastern Jupiter from Osaka, Japan, 2,361 coils of Black Hot Rolled Copper Wire Rods. The said VESSEL is owned and operated by Eastern
Shipping Lines. The shipment was covered by Bill of Lading O-MA-9, with arrival notice to Phelps Dodge Copper Products Corporation of the Philippines at Manila. The shipment was insured with the Home Insurance Company against all risks in the amount of P1,580,105.06 under its Insurance Policy AS73633. The coils discharged from the VESSEL numbered 2,361, of which 53 were in bad order. What the Phelps Dodge ultimately received at its warehouse was the same number of 2,361 coils, with 73 coils loose and partly cut, and 28 coils entangled, partly cut, and which had to be considered as scrap. Upon weighing at Phelps Dodge's warehouse, the 2,361 coils were found to weight 263,940.85 kilos as against its invoiced weight of 264,534.00 kilos or a net loss/shortage of 593.15 kilos, or 1,209,56 lbs., according to the claims presented by the Phelps Dodge against Home Insurance, the Eastern Shipping, and Angel Jose Transportation Inc. For the loss/damage suffered by the cargo, Home Insurance paid the Phelps Dodge under its insurance policy the amount of P3,260.44, by virtue of which Home Insurance became subrogated to the rights and actions of the Phelps Dodge. Home Insurance made demands for payment against the Eastern Shipping and the Angel Jose Transportation for reimbursement of the aforesaid amount but each refused to pay the same." [GR L-34383] On or about 22 December 1966, the Hansa Transport Kontor shipped from Bremen, Germany, 30 packages of Service Parts of Farm Equipment and Implements on board the VESSEL, SS 'NEDER RIJN' owned by N. V. Nedlloyd Lijnen, and represented in the Philippines by its local agent, the Columbian Philippines, Inc.. The shipment was covered by Bill of Lading No. 22 for transportation to, and delivery at, Manila, in favor of International Harvester Macleod, Inc. The shipment was insured with Home Insurance company under its Cargo Policy AS-73735 'with average terms' for P98,567.79. The packages discharged from the VESSEL numbered 29, of which seven packages were found to be in bad order. What International Harvester ultimately received at its warehouse was the same number of 29 packages with 9 packages in bad order. Out of these 9 packages, 1 package was accepted by International Harvester in good order due to the negligible damages sustained. Upon inspection at International Harvester's warehouse, the contents of 3 out of the 8 cases were also found to be complete and intact, leaving 5 cases in bad order. The contents of these 5 packages showed several items missing in the total amount of $131.14; while the contents of the undelivered 1 package were valued at $394.66, or a total of $525.80 or P2,426.98. For the short-delivery of 1 package and the missing items in 5 other packages, Home Insurance paid International Harvester under its Insurance Cargo Policy the amount of P2,426.98, by virtue of which Home Insurance became subrogated to the rights and actions of International Harvester. Demands were made on N.V. Nedlloyd Lijnen and International Harvester for reimbursement thereof but they failed and refused to pay the same." When the insurance contracts which formed the basis of these cases were executed, Home Insurance had not yet secured the necessary licenses and authority; but when the complaints in these two cases were filed, Home Insurance had already secured the necessary license to conduct its insurance business in the Philippines. In both cases, Home Insurance made the averment regarding its capacity to sue, as that it "is a foreign insurance company duly authorized to do business in the Philippines through its agent, Mr. Victor H. Bello, of legal age and with office address at Oledan Building, Ayala Avenue, Makati, Rizal." The Court of First Instance of Manila, Branch XVII, however, dismissed the complaints in both cases, on the ground that Home Insurance had failed to prove its capacity to sue. Home Insurance filed the petitions for review on certiorari, which were consolidated. Issue: Whether Home Insurance, a foreign corporation licensed to do business at he time of the filing of
the case, has the capacity to sue for claims on contracts made when it has no license yet to do business in the Philippines. Held: As early as 1924, the Supreme Court ruled in the leading case of Marshall Wells Co. v. Henry W.
Elser & Co. (46 Phil. 70) that the object of Sections 68 and 69 of the Corporation Law was to subject the foreign corporation doing business in the Philippines to the jurisdiction of Philippine courts. The Corporation Law must be given a reasonable, not an unduly harsh, interpretation which does not hamper the development of trade relations and which fosters friendly commercial intercourse among countries. The objectives enunciated in the 1924 decision are even more relevant today when we commercial relations are viewed in terms of a world economy, when the tendency is to re-examine the political boundaries separating one nation from another insofar as they define business requirements or restrict
marketing conditions. The court distinguished between the denial of a right to take remedial action and the penal sanction for non-registration. Insofar as transacting business without a license is concerned, Section 69 of the Corporation Law imposed a penal sanction — imprisonment for not less than 6 months nor more than 2 years or payment of a fine not less than P200.00 nor more than P1,000.00 or both in the discretion of the court. There is a penalty for transacting business without registration. And insofar as litigation is concerned, the foreign corporation or its assignee may not maintain any suit for the recovery of any debt, claim, or demand whatever. The Corporation Law is silent on whether or not the contract executed by a foreign corporation with no capacity to sue is null and void ab initio. Still, there is no question that the contracts are enforceable. The requirement of registration affects only the remedy. Significantly, Batas Pambansa 68, the Corporation Code of the Philippines has corrected the ambiguity caused by the wording of Section 69 of the old Corporation Law. Section 133 of the present Corporation Code provides that "No foreign corporation transacting business in the Philippines without a license, or its successors or assigns, shall be permitted to maintain or intervene in any action, suit or proceeding in any court or administrative agency in the Philippines; but such corporation may be sued or proceeded against before Philippine courts or administrative tribunals on any valid cause of action recognized under Philippine laws." The old Section 69 has been reworded in terms of non-access to courts and administrative agencies in order to maintain or intervene in any action or proceeding. The prohibition against doing business without first securing a license is now given penal sanction which is also applicable to other violations of the Corporation Code under the general provisions of Section 144 of the Code. It is, therefore, not necessary to declare the contract null and void even as against the erring foreign corporation. The penal sanction for the violation and the denial of access to Philippine courts and administrative bodies are sufficient from the viewpoint of legislative policy. Herein, the lack of capacity at the time of the execution of the contracts was cured by the subsequent registration is also strengthened by the procedural aspects of these cases. Home Insurance averred in its complaints that it is a foreign insurance company, that it is authorized to do business in the Philippines, that its agent is Mr. Victor H. Bello, and that its office address is the Oledan Building at Ayala Avenue, Makati. These are all the averments required by Section 4, Rule 8 of the Rules of Court. Home Insurance sufficiently alleged its capacity to sue.
