Alejandro Montelibano Ramos v. La Compania General De Tabacos De Filipinas
| Decision Date | 05 June 1916 |
| Docket Number | No. 217,217 |
| Citation | 36 S.Ct. 617,60 L.Ed. 1099,241 U.S. 455 |
| Parties | ALEJANDRO MONTELIBANO Y RAMOS and Liceria Montelibano y Conlu, Appts. and Plffs. in Err., v. LA COMPANIA GENERAL DE TABACOS DE FILIPINAS |
| Court | U.S. Supreme Court |
Mr. Harry W. Van Dyke for appellants and plaintiffs in error.
Mr. Clement L. Bouve for appellee and defendant in error.
This action was commenced by appellants on the 4th day of March, 1911, in the court of first instance of the city of Manila. It was in its nature a suit in equity. The whole controversy turns upon the construction of certain instruments in writing, the provisions of which will be outlined in stating the case. The complaint averred that on October 25, 1905, the parties entered into a written contract whereby the tobacco company, through a representative, 'delivers to Don Alejandro Montelibano for the purpose of collection, under the conditions hereinafter expressed, the following credits.' There followed a detailed statement of the credits, mentioning the names of the debtors and the amount due from each, the aggregate being P.179,177.86. The company guaranteed the existence and legitimacy of the credits, but not the solvency of the debtors. Montelibano obligated himself to pay to the company as the value of the credits the sum of P.130,000 in instalments of P.20,000 in the month of December in each of the years 1906, 1907, 1908, and 1909, and the balance of P.50,000 in December, 1910. It was agreed that if he should pay the P.130,000 at the times provided 'all the credits and documents of the debtors WHICH ARE NOW DELIVERED TO HIM AS SPECIFIcally stated in paragraph one, will be transferred to him, and consequently Don Alejandro Montelibano agreed to pay in cash to the Compania General de Tabacos de Filipinas in the instalments set out the sum of 130,000 pesos, in order to acquire the ownership of the rest of the credits.' All cancelations of credits were to be made by the company upon the proposal of Don Alejandro, 'the latter, however, being authorized to issue partial receipts for whatever sums he may collect.' The company was not to advance to him any sum for use in the collection of the credits, nor to accept responsibility for actions instituted by him for their collection, 'said party accepting whatever responsibilities may arise by reason of his negotiations.' The company conferred upon him authority to conduct upon his own responsibility all negotiations by him deemed requisite for the collection of the credits; 'and in the event of any judicial action being instituted, the company shall sell to Mr. Montelibano the credit which is the object of such litigation.' The contract was publicly ratified by Montelibano and his wife, who is the other appellant, on the 10th day of November following its date, and in the ratification the instrument, besides being copied at large, was described as the document 'in which the said company ceded to the said Mr. Montelibano all the credits set forth in the same to the end that the cessionary might carry into effect the collection from all the debtors of the company of the debts set forth in the inserted document, the total amount of which aggregates the sum of 179,177 pesos and 86 centavos, by means of the authority conferred by said company upon said Mr. Montelibano to enable him to carry out upon his own responsibility all the negotiations he might deem necessary for the collection of the credits mentioned, and that in the event of any judicial action being instituted the company would cede in sale to Mr. Montelibano the credit which was the object of said litigation.' The wife jointed in the contract and the ratification in order to pledge certain real estate owned by her as security for the performance of the contract by her husband.
The complaint averred that appellants had taken all steps possible to carry into effect the collection of the credits, but had only been able to collect amounts aggregating P.29,491.04; that the remaining credits set forth in the first clause of the contract did not exist in the amount therein stated, and were not legitimate in their nature, and for this reason, in spite of plaintiff's efforts to collect them, it had been impossible to do so. Plaintiffs claimed that defendant company was responsible to the plaintiffs for damages in the sum of P.129,734.29, and prayed that they might recover this amount, and that the contract of October 25, 1905, and the mortgages given to secure it, might be canceled.
The appellee filed an answer and a cross complaint setting up the contract of October 25, 1905, and the ratification of November 10, and also an agreement afterwards made between the parties under date December 7, 1908, supplemental to and modifying in certain respects the previous contract; setting up that defendant had complied with all the terms and conditions of these contracts on its part to be performed; that Montelibano had paid defendant only P.20,736.95 on account of the instalments agreed to be paid 'under the provisions of said contracts whereby the said plaint...
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Philippine Sugar Estates Development Co v. Government of Philippine Islands
...Gsell v. Insular Collector of Customs, 239 U. S. 93, 36 Sup. Ct. 39, 60 L. Ed. 163; Montelibanoy Ramos v. La Compania General de Tabacos de Filipinas, 241 U. S. 455, 461, 36 Sup. Ct. 617, 60 L. Ed. 1099. It is well settled that courts of equity will reform a written contract where, owing to......