Rebecca Boyer-Roxas v. Hon. Court of Appeals

Summary

This case involved the ejectment of stockholders from property owned by their corporation. Petitioners Boyer-Roxas and Guillermo Roxas, stockholders of Heirs of Eugenia V. Roxas, Inc., occupied residential buildings within the corporation's Hidden Valley Springs Resort initially with tolerance of the controlling stockholder. When the corporation later sought to eject them, petitioners argued they had ownership rights as stockholders and requested piercing of the corporate veil. The Supreme Court rejected these arguments, emphasizing the separate juridical personality of corporations and that stockholders do not own specific corporate assets. However, the Court applied the builders in good faith doctrine under Civil Code Articles 448 and 453 to an unfinished building constructed by Rebecca Boyer-Roxas with her own funds, requiring proper indemnification procedures rather than simple removal. The decision reinforces fundamental corporate law principles while protecting property rights of good faith builders.