Yek Seng Co. v. The Honorable Court of Appeals

Summary

This Supreme Court case involved Yek Seng Co.'s attempt to obtain a lease extension under Article 1687 of the Civil Code after being served with termination notice by lessors Dewey and David Veloso Yap. The petitioner occupied the Manila premises for over 20 years under a verbal month-to-month lease at P3,000 monthly rental. The Court unanimously denied the petition, ruling that the month-to-month lease had already expired when extension was sought, and that courts have discretion, not obligation, to grant extensions. The Court distinguished the case from Divino v. Marcos, finding no compelling circumstances like substantial improvements or lessor assurances that would justify extension. The decision emphasized that Article 1687 applies only before lease expiration and warned against abusive appeal tactics that merely delay case resolution, imposing triple costs and specifically admonishing petitioner's counsel.