Okol vs Slimmers World International, GR No. 160146, December 11, 2009

Facts:

Respondent Slimmers World International employed petitioner Leslie Okol. She rose up the ranks to become Head Office Manager and then Director and Vice President until her dismissal. Prior to Okol's dismissal, Slimmers World preventively suspended Okol. The suspension arose from the seizure by the Bureau of Customs of seven Precor elliptical machines and seven Precor treadmills belonging to or consigned to Slimmers World. Okol filed a complaint with the NLRC against Slimmers World, Behavior Modifications, Inc. and Moy for illegal suspension, illegal dismissal, unpaid commissions, damages and attorney's fees. Respondents filed a Motion to Dismiss. The labor arbiter granted the motion to dismiss. The labor arbiter ruled that Okol was the vice-president of Slimmers World at the time of her dismissal. Since it involved a corporate officer, the dispute was an intra-corporate controversy falling outside the jurisdiction of the Arbitration branch. The NLRC reversed and set aside the labor arbiter's order. The appellate court set aside the NLRC's Resolution... and affirmed the labor arbiter's Order

 

 

Issue:

Whether or not the NLRC has jurisdiction over the illegal dismissal case filed by petitioner.

 

 

Ruling:

The petition lacks merit. Clearly, from the documents submitted by respondents, petitioner was a director and officer of Slimmers World. The charges of illegal suspension, illegal dismissal, unpaid commissions, reinstatement and back wages imputed by petitioner against respondents fall squarely within the ambit of intra-corporate disputes. In a number of cases, we have held that a corporate officer's dismissal is always a corporate act, or an intra-corporate controversy which arises between a stockholder and a corporation. Thus, the appellate court correctly ruled that it is not the NLRC but the regular courts which have jurisdiction over the present case. Petition denied.