Attorneys for a 97-year-old cancer sufferer being kicked out of the San Francisco cottage she has lived in for more than six decades filed a lawsuit on Friday aimed at stopping the eviction.

Marie Hatch and roommate Georgia Rothrock, 85, were handed a 60-day eviction notice this month by landlord David Kantz who says he wants to sell the home for his sons before the trust expires.

Lawyer Nancy Fineman, for firm Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy who took on the case for free after hearing of Hatch's plight, branded Kantz's actions 'despicable'.

Fineman told SF Gate: 'This is one of the most outrageous acts of greed against the elderly that I’ve seen in my almost 30 years of being a lawyer.'

Lawyers for Marie Hatch, a 97-year-old cancer sufferer from San Francisco, filed a lawsuit on Friday in an attempt to stop her being evicted from the home she has lived in for 66 years

Hatch began living in a two-bed, one bath cottage in Burlingame, California, around 1950 with friend Vivian Kruse, who told her she could live in the property until she died

That verbal contract was upheld by Kruse's daughter, Beatrice, and her granddaughter Pamela, but has now passed into the ownership of Pamela's estranged husband, David Kantz, who is trying to sell it

Hatch says she first moved into the two-bed, one bath home 66 years ago after friend Vivian Kruse, who used to own the property, gave her a verbal promise that she could live there until she died.

That deal was upheld by Kruse's daughter Beatrice, and then granddaughter Pamela until she died in 2006, passing ownership of the property to estranged husband Kantz, who is now trying to sell it.

Fineman told ABC News: 'We think there’s an enforceable oral contract and we’re taking steps to make sure that contract is enforced and Marie can live there for the rest of her life.'

The lawsuit filed by Fineman alleges breach of contract, elder abuse and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

According to Mercury News, Fineman is hoping to go to trial within 90 days, meaning Hatch will not have to vacate the property.

Dailymail.com attempted to contact Michael Liberty, the attorney for Kantz, but has so far not received a response.

Lawyers for Hatch, who took her case on pro bono, say Kantz is guilty of breach of contract, elder abuse and intentional infliction of emotional distress against the elderly woman

Hatch and her roommate Georgia Rothrock, 85, say they have been suffering sleepless nights since being threatened with eviction, and have nowhere else to go if they are kicked out

Lawyers for Kantz say he is 'not personally aware' of any verbal contract, and has to sell the $1.2million property to support his sons before the trust expires in July (pictured, Hatch's kitchen)

Liberty previously said that Kantz has 'no personal knowledge' of any verbal agreement between Hatch and Kruse.

In an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle, Kantz said he inadvertently inherited the property when his wife was murdered by her boyfriend while the couple were divorcing.

Now, he says he's duty-bound to sell the property for his sons before the trust expires in July.

Kantz says the property, in the wealthy enclave of Burlingame, just south of downtown San Francisco, was purchased for just a few thousand dollars in the 1950s, but is now worth $1.2million, according to property site Zillow.

As a gesture of goodwill, Hatch and Rothrock pay Kantz a combined $900 in rent each month, but privately the property could fetch upwards of $3,200 per month.

The property was bought for just a few thousand dollars by Kruse's ancestors, but is now estimated to be worth $1.2million, with a rental value of $3,200 per month

Kantz said: 'I didn’t want to say, "We’re going to just throw you out," but I thought I would give her plenty of notice.

'There is no one part of this whole thing I don’t feel bad about. I feel bad for the elderly lady, I feel bad for my sons, I feel bad for me.'

However, Hatch feels no sympathy for Kantz, calling his actions 'greedy', and adding: 'He has no choice? Huh. I don’t believe that.'

Fineman told ABC that Hatch has one son who lives in an apartment nearby, but the home is not suitable for an elderly woman.

When asked where she'll go if she's kicked out of the cottage-style home, Hatch told CBS San Francisco: 'I haven’t the slightest idea. I don’t know where I’m going to go. What I’m going to do. I really don’t. Keeps me awake at night.'