Hernania "Lani" Lopez v. Gloria Umale-Cosme

Summary

This Supreme Court case involved a landlord-tenant dispute over ejectment from leased premises. Respondent lessor filed unlawful detainer against petitioner lessee for lease expiration and non-payment of rentals. The key legal issue was whether a tenant could be ejected when there was no written lease contract with a definite period. The Metropolitan Trial Court initially ruled for the lessor, but the Regional Trial Court reversed, finding that under the Rent Control Law (BP 877), lessees cannot be ejected for lease termination when no definite period exists. However, the Court of Appeals and Supreme Court ultimately ruled that month-to-month verbal leases constitute contracts with definite periods that expire at the end of each thirty-day period. The Supreme Court affirmed that lessors have the right to demand ejectment at month's end when proper notice is given, as such contracts expire by operation of law under Article 1687 of the Civil Code.