Angela Montenegro v. Consuelo Roxas de Gomez

Summary

This case involves a lease contract dispute over the Paris Building in Manila. Angela Montenegro leased the building from Consuelo Roxas de Gomez for three years at P4,000 monthly rent. While most of the building was delivered, certain tenants (B.A. Green, G.C. Sellner, and Manila Improvement Co.) refused to vacate their occupied rooms. Despite filing ejectment proceedings and continuing rent payments for over a year, Montenegro never obtained complete possession. The Supreme Court affirmed the trial court's rescission of the lease contract under Article 1556 of the Civil Code, ruling that failure to deliver complete possession entitled the lessee to rescission. The Court rejected arguments that contract execution equals delivery and that continued rent payments constituted estoppel, establishing important precedent on lease contract delivery requirements.