- Petitioner
- Rodolfo Guiang
- Respondent
- Ricardo C. Samano
- Citation
- G.R. No. 50501
- Court
- Supreme Court
- Division
- Third Division
- Ponente
- Bidin, J.
- Decided
- April 22, 1991
Summary
This landlord-tenant dispute involved petitioner Guiang's verbal lease of land from respondent Samano since 1961 at P40 monthly rent. After Samano's demand to increase rent to P120 was refused, he filed successive ejectment cases for unpaid rentals. Guiang defended claiming res judicata from the first dismissed case and sought reimbursement for his P8,000 house construction. The Supreme Court dismissed the petition, ruling that dismissal of the first ejectment case doesn't bar a new action for different rental periods, the court's discretion to fix lease periods wasn't abused, and under Civil Code Article 1678, lessees cannot compel lessors to pay for improvements but may only remove them if payment is refused. The decision affirmed the ejectment order with treble costs.