Geronimo Santiago, Jr. v. Fabian R. Millar

Summary

This case involved a contract dispute over sweepstakes prize collection. Plaintiff Santiago owned two units of a winning sweepstakes ticket worth P470.59 but lost the physical tickets. He sought to collect the prize without surrendering the tickets, despite contractual language requiring surrender. The Court of First Instance ruled in his favor, but the Supreme Court reversed, holding that ticket surrender was a condition precedent under the aleatory contract. The Court applied Civil Code provisions on freedom of contract and contractual performance, establishing that parties must comply with agreed-upon conditions even when circumstances make performance difficult. This decision reinforced the principle that contractual stipulations must be honored and that conditions precedent cannot be waived unilaterally by one party.