Velasco Vs Poizat Case Digest

VELASCO VS.
POIZAT
G.R. No. L-11528
FACTS: The plaintiff, as assignee in insolvency of "The Philippine Chemical Product Company"
(Ltd.) is seeking to recover of the defendant, Jean M. Poizat, the sum of P1,500, upon a subscription
made by him to the corporate stock of said company. It appears that the corporation in question was
originally organized by several residents of the city of Manila, where the company had its principal
place of business, with a capital of P50,000, divided into 500 shares. The defendant subscribed for
20 shares of the stock of the company, an paid in upon his subscription the sum of P500, the par
value of 5 shares . The action was brought to recover the amount subscribed upon the remaining
shares. It appears that the defendant was a stock holder in the company from the inception of the
enterprise, and for sometime acted as its treasurer and manager. While serving in this capacity he
called in and collected all subscriptions to the capital stock of the company, except the aforesaid 15
shares subscribed by himself and another 15 shares owned by Jose R. Infante.
A meeting of the board of directors of the company was held at which a majority of the stock was
presented. Upon this occasion two resolutions were adopted. The first was a proposal that the
directors, or shareholders, of the company should make good by new subscriptions, in proportion to
their respective holdings, 15 shares which had been surrendered by Infante. It seems that this
shareholder had already paid 25 per cent of his subscription upon 20 shares, leaving 15 shares
unpaid for, and an understanding had been reached by him and the management by which he was
to be released from the obligation of his subscription, it being understood that what he had already
paid should not be refunded. Accordingly the directors present at this meeting subscribed P1,200
toward taking up his shares, leaving a deficiency of P300 to be recovered by voluntary subscriptions
from stockholders not present at the meeting. The other proposition was o the effect that Juan [Jean]
M. Poizat, who was absent, should be required to pay the amount of his subscription upon the 15
shares for which he was still indebted to the company. The resolution further provided that, in case
he should refuse to make such payment, the management of the corporation should be authorized to
undertake judicial proceedings against him. When notification of this resolution reached Poizat
through the mail it evoked from him a manifestation of surprise and pain, which found expression in
a letter written by him in reply, dated July 27, 1914, and addressed to Velasco, as treasurer and
administrator. In this letter Poizat states that he had been given to understand by some member of
the board of directors that he was to be relieved from his subscription upon the terms conceded to
Infante. The company soon went into voluntary insolvency, Velasco being named as the assignee. At
the hearing of the Court of First Instance, judgment was rendered in favor of the defendant, and the
complaint was dismissed. From this action the plaintiff has appealed.
ISSUE: WON Poizat is liable upon this subscription?
HELD: Poizat is liable upon his subscription. Section 36 of the Corporation Law clearly recognizes
that a stock subscription is subsisting liability from the time the subscription is made, since it requires
the subscriber to pay interest quarterly from that date unless he is relieved from such liability by the
by-laws of the corporation. The subscriber is as much bound to pay the amount of the share
subscribed by him as he would be to pay any other debt, and the right of the company to demand
payment is no less incontestable. The provisions of the Corporation Law (Act No. 1459) given
recognition of two remedies for the enforcement of stock subscriptions. The first and most special
remedy given by the statute consists in permitting the corporation to put up the unpaid stock for sale
and dispose of it for the account of the delinquent subscriber. In this case the provisions of section
38 to 48, inclusive, of the Corporation Law are applicable and must be followed. Nothing in this Act
shall prevent the directors from collecting, by action in any court of proper jurisdiction, the amount
due on any unpaid subscription, together with accrued interest and costs and expenses incurred.
The assignee of the insolvent corporation succeeds to all the corporate rights of action vested in the
corporation prior to its insolvency; and the assignee therefore has the same freedom with respect to
suing upon the stock subscription as the directors themselves would have had under section 49
above cited. There is another reason why the present plaintiff must prevail in this case. That reason
is this: When insolvency supervenes upon a corporation and the court assumes jurisdiction to wind
up, all unpaid stock subscriptions become payable on demand, and are at once recoverable in an
action instituted by the assignee or receiver appointed by the court. It is now quite well settled that
when the corporation becomes insolvent, with proceedings instituted by creditors to wind up and
distribute its assets, no call or assessment is necessary before the institution of suits to collect
unpaid balances on subscription. It evidently cannot be permitted that a subscriber should escape
from his lawful obligation by reason of the failure of the officers of the corporation to perform their
duty in making a call; and when the original model of making the call becomes impracticable, the
obligation must be treated as due upon demand. The better doctrine is that when insolvency
supervenes all unpaid subscriptions become at once due and enforceable.
The circumstance that the board of directors in their meeting of July 13, 1914, resolved to release
Infante from his obligation upon a subscription for 15 shares is no wise prejudicial to the right of the
corporation or its assignee to recover from Poizat upon a subscription made by him. In releasing
Infante the board transcended its powers, and he no doubt still remained liable on such of his shares
as were not taken up and paid for by other persons.The general doctrine is that the corporation has
no legal capacity to release an original subscriber to its capital stock from the obligation of paying for
his shares, in whole or in part.The suggestion contained in Poizat's letter of July 27, 1914, to the
effect that he understood that he was to be relieved upon the same terms as Infante is, for the same
reason, of no merit as matter of defense, even if an agreement to that effect had been duly proved.

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