Wiswall Et Al v. Campbell Et Al Assignees
| Decision Date | 01 October 1876 |
| Parties | WISWALL ET AL. v. CAMPBELL ET AL., ASSIGNEES |
| Court | U.S. Supreme Court |
MOTION to dismiss a writ of error to the Circuit Court of the United States for the Northern District of Illinois.
Mr. Lawrence Proudfoot in support of the motion.
Mr. John H. Thompson in opposition thereto.
This writ of error brings here a record of the Circuit Court for the Northern District of Illinois, in a proceeding upon an appeal taken under sect. 4984, Rev. Stat., from an order of the District Court rejecting a claim presented by a supposed creditor against the estate of a bankrupt. A motion is now made to dismiss, upon the ground that judgments of the circuit courts in such cases are not reviewable here upon error.
By sect. 691, Rev. Stat., 'all final judgments of any circuit court . . . in civil actions, brought there by original process, or . . . removed there from any district court by appeal or writ of error, where the matter in dispute, exclusive of costs, exceeds the sum or value of $2,000 [now $5,000], may be re-examined, and reversed or affirmed in the Supreme Court upon a writ of error.'
If we have jurisdiction of this case, it is by virtue of this statute.
The cases are numerous in which it has been decided that we cannot review the action of the circuit courts in the exercise of their supervisory jurisdiction under the bankrupt law. Morgan v. Thornhill, 11 Wall. 74; Hall v. Allen, 12 id. 454; Mead v. Thompson, 15 id. 638; Marshall v. Knox, 16 id. 555; Coit v. Robinson, 19 id. 274; Stickney v. Wilt, 23 id. 150; Sandusky v. National Bank, id. 293. The principle upon which these decisions rests is, that a proceeding in bankruptcy, from its commencement to its close upon the final settlement of the estate, is but one suit. The several motions made and acts done in the bankrupt court in the progress of the cause are not distinct suits at law or in equity, but parts of one suit in bankruptcy, from which they cannot be separated. As our jurisdiction extends only to a re-examination of final judgments or decrees in suits at law or in equity, it follows that we have no control over judgments and orders made by the courts below in mere bankruptcy proceedings.
The circuit and district courts have concurrent jurisdiction of 'all suits at law or in equity brought by an assignee in bankruptcy against any person claiming an adverse interest, or by any such person against an assignee touching any property or rights of the bankrupt transferable to or vested in such assignee' (Rev. Stat. sect. 4979); but such suits, when prosecuted, are no part of the bankruptcy proceeding. They are in aid of such a proceeding, but, while progressing, are entirely separate from and independent of it. They are used by the bankrupt court to settle the rights of parties who are not subject to its jurisdiction in the suit in bankruptcy, and who, therefore, cannot be affected by any judgment or decree that may be made in that cause. Appeals and writs of error to this court in such suits are allowed, and these are the appeals and writs of error referred to in sect. 4989.
The question, then, to be determined in this case is, whether proceedings by creditors to prove their demands against the estate of a bankrupt are part of the suit in bankruptcy, or separate and independent suits at law or in equity.
To entitle a creditor to have his demand allowed, he must verify it in the manner provided by sect. 5077; and, when so verified, it must be delivered to the register having charge of the case. Sect. 5079. If the proof is satisfactory to the register, he is required to deliver it to the assignee, who must examine and compare it with the books and accounts of the bankrupt. It is the duty of the assignee, also, to register, in a book to be kept by him for that purpose, the names of the creditors who have proved their claims, in the order in which the proof is received, stating the time of the receipt of the proof, and the nature and amount of the debts. This book is open to the inspection of all creditors. Sect. 5080. The court may, on the application of the assignee, or of any creditor, or of the bankrupt, or without any application, examine upon oath the bankrupt or any person tendering or who has made proof of a claim, and may summon any person capable of giving evidence concerning such proof, or concerning the debt sought to be proved, and shall reject all claims not duly proved, or when the proof shows the claim to be founded in fraud, illegality, or mistake. Sect. 5081. The court must allow all debts duly proved, and cause a list thereof to be made and certified to one of the registers. Sect. 5085.
So far, clearly a proceeding to prove a debt is part of the suit in bankruptcy. It has none of the qualities of an independent suit at law or in equity. By sect. 4980, any supposed creditor whose claim is wholly or in part rejected,...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Colgate v. Harvey
... ... was made in the exercise of legislative judgment and discretion, as laid down in Campbell v. State of California, 200 U. S. 87, 26 S. Ct. 182, 50 L. Ed. 382, 388, and in Stebbins v. Riley, ... ...
-
In re Pitts
...raised by such an act, in and of itself, as the state voluntarily invoked the jurisdiction of the bankruptcy court. Wiswall v. Campbell, 93 U.S. 347, 351, 23 L.Ed. 923 (1876). However, if the debtor or trustee thereafter institute a counterclaim against the state, the state may claim that s......
-
Gardner v. State of New Jersey
...court by offering a proof of claim and demanding its allowance must abide the consequences of that procedure. Wiswall v. Campbell, 93 U.S. 347, 351, 23 L.Ed. 923. If the claimant is a State, the procedure of proof and allowance is not transmitted into a suit against the State because the co......
-
In re Nathan
...and demands its allowance, subjects himself to the dominion of the court, and must abide the consequences." Wiswall v. Campbell, 1876, 3 Otto 347, 93 U.S. 347, 351, 23 L.Ed. 923; Gardner v. State of New Jersey, 1947, 329 U.S. 565, 573-574, 67 S.Ct. 467, 91 L.Ed. Thus the trustee at bar was ......
-
Reframing Arbitration & Bankruptcy.
...covered by a tax lien). (143) See id. at 573 (describing the principle as "traditional bankruptcy law"). (144) See Wiswall v. Campbell, 93 U.S. 347, 349 (145) Id. at 351. (146) 382 U.S. 323 (1966). (147) See id. at 325. The trustee also sought recovery on an unpaid stock subscription, but t......