233 F. 1022 | N.D. Ala. | 1916
The referee allowed the bankrupt his exemptions only out of personal property, which the referee determined from the evidence was in the possession of the bankrupt at the time of the filing of the petition, and which he had failed to surrender to the trustee.
The case is therefore to be determined by the reasonableness of the bankrupt’s explanation of the loss by burglary and by the correctness of his estimate of the amount of goods lost. If his explanation is reaso ¡able, as to the fact and value of such loss, the shortage is satisfac(rovUy explained, and no deduction from his exemptions should be made because of it. If the bankrupt’s story of the burglary is unreasonable in its entirety, or his estimate of the amount of his loss too uncertain to be held to- properly account for the ascertained shortage In goods at the time of bankruptcy, then there is a failure to properly explain, shown by the record, since the burglary is the only explanation offered by the bankrupt to> explain the admitted discrepancy.
The referee found that the burglary did not satisfactorily account foj- the shortage, either in fact or amount. There is certainly enough daub; in the evidence contained in the record, as to the good faith of the. alleged loss by the burglary, and as to the amount of goods lost, if In fact the bankrupt’s store was burglarized, to give the presumption to be indulged in favor of the referee’s finding, he having seen and heard the witnesses, its legitimate weight, as against the contention oí the bankrupt to the contrary. The measure of proof applicable is lliat which obtains in civil cases, and not that necessary in cases of contempt for disobedience of an order to surrender. Shea v. Lewis, 206 Fed. 877, 124 C. C. A. 537, 30 Am. Bankr. Rep. 447; In re Coppleman, 30 Am. Bankr. Rep. 414; Good v. Kane, 211 Fed. 956, 128 C. C. A. 454, 32 Am. Bankr. Rep. 19.
The petition of the bankrupt to review the referee’s order is denied, at his costs.
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