30 Md. 128 | Md. | 1869
delivered the opinion of the Court.
We have no doubt of the jurisdiction of this Court to entertain the present appeal.
By the Constitution of 1867, Article 4, section 14, it is provided that the jurisdiction of the Court of Appeals, shall be “ such as now is or may hereafter be prescribed by law.” The Act of 1865, ch. 91, declares that “any person interested may appeal from the decision of the Court, on any question arising under the insolvent law.” That Act remains unre-pealed.
It has been argued by the appellees that the right of appeal in such ease is taken away by the 28 th section of .the 4th Article of the Constitution, which declares that “the
The appeal is from an order of the Court of Common Pleas, removing the trustee in insolvency, and dismissing the petition of the appellant as an insolvent debtor. The Cpurt below proceeded upon the ground that the case of the appellant came within the provisions of the Bankrupt Law of the United States; and was exclusively within the jurisdiction of the Federal Courts, and that the Insolvent Court had no jurisdiction or power to entertain his application.
The power to “establish uniform laws on the subject of bankruptcies throughout the United States,” is conferred upon Congress by the Constitution, Article 1, section 8; and it has been settled, by the decisions of the Supreme Court, that when this legislative power has been exercised, it is paramount and exclusive, and suspends the operation of the Insolvent Laws of a State, and the jurisdiction of the State Courts over cases falling within the purview and operation of the Bankrupt Law. Sturgis vs. Crowninshield, 4 Wheaton, 122; Ogden vs. Saunders, 12 Wheaton, 213; Ex.
, - The only ground relied on to take the case out of the scope of the Act of Congress, is presented by the amendment to the insolvent petition which alleges that the assets of the insolvent “ are not sufficient to pay fifty per centum of his debts, and that he has reasonable cause to believe a majority of his creditors, taking into consideration their number and value would not otherwise consent to his discharge.”.
By the 33d section of the Act, a debtor whose assets do not pay fifty per centum of the claims against his estate, is not entitled to be discharged unless by the assent of a majority in number and value of his creditors who have proved their claims; and the argument of the appellant is that the design and purpose of the law being, to enable a bankrupt debtor to obtain a discharge by complying with its provisions ; the law does not apply to a case where a party is liable to fail in obtaining his discharge by reason of the provisions of the 33d section.
In our opinion, this is a mistaken construction of the law. The jurisdiction of the Bankrupt Court does not depend upon the right of the party ultimately to obtain his discharge, this may be denied to him for various causes enumerated in the law, and can be determined only by facts and circumstances disclosed in the progress of the cause, after the jurisdiction has attached; it is not essential to the jurisdiction that the party shall appear to be entitled to a discharge without the consent of his creditors. It may perhaps be considered a
Being of opinion that the case presented by the petition of the appellant, was within the scope and operation of the bankrupt law, we affirm the order of the Court of Common Pleas.
Order affirmed.