GR 143312; (August, 2005) (Digest)
G.R. No. 143312 . August 12, 2005
RICARDO S. SILVERIO, JR., ESSES DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION, and TRI-STAR FARMS, INC., Petitioners, vs. FILIPINO BUSINESS CONSULTANTS, INC., Respondent.
FACTS
The case involves a dispute over possession of a 62-hectare property in Calatagan, Batangas. Respondent FBCI initially obtained a judgment by default and a writ of possession against petitioners Esses and Tri-Star, the registered owners. However, the trial court later nullified this judgment due to invalid service of summons. Consequently, the court ordered the restoration of possession to the petitioners pursuant to Rule 39, Section 5 of the Rules of Court, and issued a corresponding writ of possession in their favor.
Before the writ could be enforced, FBCI filed an urgent motion to suspend it, claiming a supervening event. FBCI alleged it had acquired the controlling shares of stock of petitioner corporations Esses and Tri-Star, and thus, as the new owner of the corporations, it was entitled to possession of the property. The Regional Trial Court granted the suspension, citing potential forum shopping and the risk of violent confrontation.
ISSUE
Whether the trial court correctly suspended the enforcement of the writ of possession based on FBCI’s claim of having acquired controlling shares in the petitioner corporations.
RULING
The Supreme Court ruled that the trial court gravely abused its discretion in suspending the writ. The legal logic is anchored on the distinct and separate juridical personality of a corporation from its stockholders. The ownership of shares of stock does not equate to ownership of the corporation’s specific assets. A shareholder, even a controlling one, holds only an equitable or beneficial interest in the corporate properties but has no legal title to, or right of possession over, any definite portion thereof.
Therefore, FBCI’s acquisition of shares in Esses and Tri-Star did not constitute a supervening event that would entitle it to the possession of the Calatagan Property, which remains a corporate asset owned by the distinct entities Esses and Tri-Star. The writ of possession, issued to restore possession after the reversal of the executed judgment, should be implemented without further delay. The Court ordered the immediate execution of the writ in favor of the petitioner corporations through their representative, Ricardo S. Silverio, Jr.