64 Pa. 74 | Pa. | 1870
The opinion of the court was delivered,
— The counsel for the parties, with all their learning and research, have not been able to produce any decision upon the question, whether where the debtor of a bankrupt, in good faith and without knowledge or notice of the proceedings against him, pays him a debt, he can be compelled to pay it over
The Act of Congress of March 2d 1867 has no express provision on the subject. The case is necessarily left to the legal effect of the assignment provided by the act. The 14th section enacts “ that as soon as said assignee is appointed and qualified, the judge, or where there is no opposing interest, the register shall, by an instrument under his hand, assign and convey to the assignee all the estate real and personal of the bankrupt, with all his deeds, books and papers relating thereto; and such assignment shall relate back to the commencement of said proceedings in bankruptcy, and thereupon, by operation of law, the title of all such property and estate, both real and personal, shall vest in said assignee.” The only and natural construction of these words is, that the assignment,, no matter when made, shall take effect by operation of law, as if it had been made at the commencement of the proceedings, or on the day of filing the petition. It is un
It must be admitted that this is an unjust and cruel law; and the effect of it may be to make bankrupts of honest and solvent men, who are only desirous of fulfilling their legal obligations. That all the world has notice of a transfer by operation of law, in proceedings in bankruptcy, is a mere fiction — not true in reality — whatever care the law may take to give public notice through newspapers. All men cannot afford to take all the newspapers, and if they did, have not time to read all the advertisements. Life is too short, and other cares too pressing for that. The attention of Congress ought surely to be called to this subject, and some suitable provision made to protect those who deal honestly, in good faith, and without notice, with bankrupts.
There is, however, another important question which arises on this record. The proceedings in bankruptcy against August Born were commenced by filing the petition January 81st 1868, and he was adjudicated a bankrupt February 26th 1868. His bank account with the defendants below, which was all the evidence produced to charge them with the receipt and possession of any of his property, showed a balance from old book under date of February 6th 1868, and all the deposits made by him were subsequent to that date. Now, if we give the fullest effect to the relation of the assignment to the commencement of the proceedings, it must be held to operate in the same manner as if it had been then
There was no evidence adduced in the court below to show that the balance in the bank, February 6th 1868, or the subsequent deposits, belonged to August Born, the bankrupt, on the 31st January 1868 — the day the petition was filed. They may have
Judgment affirmed.