Scribd
Upload
39 views1 page

METROPOLITAN WATERWORKS AND SEWERAGE SYSTEM Vs CA

The Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) filed a complaint against the Philippine National Bank (PNB) seeking to recover amounts that were debited from its account for 23 checks that were allegedly forged. PNB refused liability, claiming the checks appeared regular. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of PNB, finding that MWSS failed to conclusively prove the checks were forged and that MWSS's own negligence in delayed reconciliation of bank statements and loose controls over check printing facilitated the fraud. The court held PNB was not liable as MWSS's negligence was the proximate cause of the loss.

Uploaded by

Alexir Mendoza
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
39 views1 page

METROPOLITAN WATERWORKS AND SEWERAGE SYSTEM Vs CA

The Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) filed a complaint against the Philippine National Bank (PNB) seeking to recover amounts that were debited from its account for 23 checks that were allegedly forged. PNB refused liability, claiming the checks appeared regular. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of PNB, finding that MWSS failed to conclusively prove the checks were forged and that MWSS's own negligence in delayed reconciliation of bank statements and loose controls over check printing facilitated the fraud. The court held PNB was not liable as MWSS's negligence was the proximate cause of the loss.

Uploaded by

Alexir Mendoza
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 1

METROPOLITAN WATERWORKS AND SEWERAGE SYSTEM vs.

COURT
OF APPEALS and THE PHILIPPINE NATIONAL BANK
G.R. No. L-62943 July 14, 1986
GUTIERREZ, JR., J.
FACTS:
MWSS and its’s predecessor-in-interest NWSA shared an account from
Philippine National Bank. Only MWSS’s treasurer, auditor, and General
Manager were authorized to sign checks. NWSA released 23 checks which
were cleared debited against the account of petitioner. In the same months,
another 23 checks bearing the same check numbers, were again cleared and
debited by PNB from the account of petitioner.
The amounts drawn were deposited the payees in their accounts in
Philippine Commercial Industrial Bank and Philippine Bank of Commerce. The
names in said accounts were fictitious. Petitioner requested the restoration
of the amounts debited claiming said checks were forged. PNB’s refusal led
to this complaint.
PNB, in their defense, claims that the instruments were regular on its
face.
ISSUE: Is PNB liable for the checks because they did not hold that the
signatures were forged?
HELD:
No, PNB is not liable as it was MWSS’s negligence which was the
proximate cause of the loss. There is no express and categorical that the 23
questioned checks were indeed signed by persons other than the authorized
MWSS signatories. The findings of the National Bureau of Investigation show
that the MWSS fraud was an "inside job" and that the petitioner's delay in the
reconciliation of bank statements and the laxity and loose records control in
the printing of its personalized checks facilitated the fraud.
According to Siasat, et al. v. Intermediate Appellate Court, forgery
cannot be presumed. It must be established by clear, positive, and
convincing evidence. This was not done in the present case.
Petitioner is barred from setting up the defense of forgery under
Section 23 of the NIL due to its negligence before and after the questioned
checks were negotiated. This paired with the petitioner’s inability to
reconcile it’s bank records displays MWSS’s gross negligence.
Petitioner cannot claim that respondent was also guilty of negligence
as PNB had taken the necessary measures in the detection of forged checks
and the prevention of their fraudulent encashment.

You might also like

pFad - Phonifier reborn

Pfad - The Proxy pFad of © 2024 Garber Painting. All rights reserved.

Note: This service is not intended for secure transactions such as banking, social media, email, or purchasing. Use at your own risk. We assume no liability whatsoever for broken pages.


Alternative Proxies:

Alternative Proxy

pFad Proxy

pFad v3 Proxy

pFad v4 Proxy