SC affirms dismissal of M/V Doña Paz class suit

MANILA, Philippines – The Supreme Court on Wednesday, April 13, junked the petition to revive the class suit filed in lower courts by the families of the victims of the M/V Doña Paz tragedy.

The SC’s Third Division dismissed the petition filed by  Caltex Philippines, Incorporated (now Chevron) and its allied companies seeking to overturn the decision issued by the Regional Trial Court of Manila.

It said it found it “peculiar” that the Caltex –  as respondents in the suit together with Sulpicio Lines, Vector Shipping and several others – wanted the class suit to continue even after the court had dismissed them.

“The peculiarity in this case is that petitioners, who were the defendants in the antecedent cases before the RTCs of Catbalogan and Manila, are most adamant in invoking their waiver of the defense of prescription while the respondents, to whom the cause of action belong, have acceded to the dismissal of their complaint ” the SC noted.

In December 1987, passenger ferry M/V Doña Paz, owned by Sulpicio Lines, collided with Vector Shipping’s oil tanker M/T Vector, which was carrying Caltex petroleum. The tragedy, considered as the worst peace time maritime disaster in the world, left around 4,000 people dead.

The class suit was first filed in Texas and Louisiana, but was dismissed in both. In 2001, it was  brought before the RTC of Catbalogan, which dismissed the suit on the ground of prescription – the case was filed more than 13 years after the tragedy.

The complainants filed a motion for intervention before the Manila RTC, which denied it in 2002 due to lack of merit.

In a surprising move, the defendant companies filed a motion for reconsideration and waged their defense of prescription. The Catbalogan RTC simply noted the motion, while the Manila RTC did not give weight to it.

“In the instant case, not only once did the petitioners expressly renounce their defense of prescription. Nonetheless, the Court cannot consider such waiver as basis in order to reverse the rulings of the courts below as the dismissal of the complaint had become final and binding on both petitioners and the respondents,” the SC said.

The High Court added that the Catbalogan RTC cannot be faulted for the case dismissal because the “cause of action had already prescribed.”

The 13-page ruling was penned by Associate Justice Bienvenido Reyes. Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno and Associate Justices Presbitero Velasco Jr, Jose Portugal Perez, and Francis Jardeleza concurred with the decision. – Rappler.com