Security Bank & Trust Company v. Court of Appeals

Summary

This case involves a construction contract dispute where contractor Ysmael Ferrer sued Security Bank & Trust Company and Rosito Manhit for additional construction costs. Ferrer completed SBTC's Davao City building within the contracted period but incurred P300,000.00 in additional expenses due to increased material costs. Despite SBTC's initial verification and recommendation to settle for P200,000.00, the bank denied liability citing a contract provision requiring mutual agreement for cost adjustments. The Supreme Court applied the unjust enrichment principle under Article 22 of the Civil Code and found that the mutual agreement condition was void under Article 1182 as it depended on the debtor's sole will. The Court ruled that allowing SBTC to benefit from the completed construction without paying the actual costs would constitute unjust enrichment, affirming liability but reducing attorney's fees to P10,000.00.