Relevant Legal Provisions

Civil Code Article 179：A person who, without legal grounds, obtains a benefit and thereby causes another to suffer a loss shall return such benefit. The same applies when a legal ground once existed but later ceased to exist.

Civil Code Article 184：A person who, intentionally or negligently, unlawfully infringes upon the rights of another shall be liable for damages. The same applies to one who intentionally causes harm to another by a method contrary to public morals.

Facts and Reasons

The plaintiff (our firm's client) leased a property to the opposing party. After the lease term expired, the defendant did leave the premises but failed to remove certain personal belongings. The defendant continued occupying the property with those items for a period of time. With no other choice, the plaintiff hired a clearance company to remove and dispose of the items. Subsequently, the plaintiff filed a lawsuit seeking unpaid rent for the period of occupation and unjust enrichment related to the clearance expenses.

Judgment

The defendant shall pay the plaintiff the related costs, plus interest calculated at an annual rate of 5% until the date of full payment.

Upon review, Paragraph 2, Article 3 of the disputed agreement stipulates that on the lease termination date set forth in the agreement, the defendant must settle water, electricity, and management fees with the plaintiff and pay the amounts in cash on the spot. Since the defendant has not paid the related fees to date, the plaintiff's claim is well-founded.Furthermore, Paragraph 1, Article 4 of the agreement states that on the lease termination date, the defendant shall vacate and return the leased premises to the plaintiff. However, the defendant left their miscellaneous belongings inside the property. The plaintiff asserted that, in order to clear these items, they hired a third-party clearance service. A moving contract is provided as evidence, which is acceptable.

In conclusion, pursuant to the agreed terms of the disputed agreement, the plaintiff's claim demanding payment of the related amounts from the defendant is justified and should be granted.

(Note: To protect the client's interests, certain case details and judgment images have been redacted and modified. For a full review of the case, please refer to  Judicial Yuan's judgment database)

Attorneys：Vincent Huang、Herman Lyu、Webber Huang