Article 1169 of the Civil Code
FACTS:
Private
respondents were the lessees of the premises originally owned by Susana Realty.
The payments of the rentals were paid by them to a collector of the Susana
Realty who went the premises monthly.
Susana Realty, however, sold the property to petitioner Cetus
Development, Inc. The private respondents then continued to pay their monthly
rentals to a collector sent by the petitioner. In succeeding months, for three months, the
private respondents failed to pay their rentals because no collector came. They
then contacted the petitioner over the telephone as to where they should pay
their rentals. The petitioner then told them that they would send a collector
to collect the rentals. Private respondents waited but no collector came.
Petitioner then sent a letter to each of the private respondents demanding that
they vacate the subject premises and to pay their arrearages within 15 days
from the receipt thereof. With this, private respondents immediately upon the
receipt of such demand, tendered their payments which were accepted by the
petitioner with the condition that the acceptance was without prejudice to the
filing of ejectment suit. For failure of the private respondents to vacate the
premises as demanded, petitioner filed an ejectment suit against them.
ISSUE:
Whether
or not there was a delay of payment by the private respondents to the
petitioner considering that upon receipt of the demand letter, they immediately
tendered their payments.
No.
There was no failure yet on the part of the private respondents to pay rents
for three consecutive months. It has been duly established that it has been
customary for private respondents to pay their rentals through a collector sent
by the lessor.
Article
1169 of the Civil Code provides that those obliged to deliver or to do
something incur in delay from the time the oblige judicially or extrajudicially
demands from them the fulfillment of their obligation.
The
moment the petitioner extrajudicially demand the payment of the rentals,
private respondents immediately answered their obligation by paying their
arrearages of rentals to the petitioner.
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