Dingcong vs Karaan 72 Phil 14

Facts: Jose Dingcong was the owner of a hotel in Iloilo. In 1933, a

certain Francisco Echevarria rented a room in the upper floor of the
hotel. The room he rented was immediately above the store
occupied by the Kanaan brothers who are also tenants of the hotel.
One night, Echevarria carelessly left his faucet open thereby
flooding his room and it caused water to drip from his room to the
store below. Because of this, the articles being sold by Kanaan were
damaged. Apparently also, the water pipes supposed to drain the
water from Echevarria’s room was defective hence the flooding and
the dripping.

ISSUE: Whether or not Dingcong is liable to pay for the damages

caused by Echevarria.

HELD: Yes. Dingcong as proprietor is liable for the negligent act of

the guest of his hotel (Echevarria). It was not shown that Dingcong
exercised the diligence of a good father in preventing the damage
caused. The pipe should have been repaired prior and Echevarria
should have been provided with a container to catch the drip.
Therefore, Dingcong is liable to pay for damages by reason of his
negligence.