Law Commons^™

Corporate Reorganization Under Section 77b Of The Bankruptcy Act, Jacob J. Kaplan

Michigan Law Review

In the closing hours of its legislative life the 73rd Congress adopted the amendment to the Bankruptcy Act providing for the reorganization of corporations, and designated as Section 77B. The Act was approved. by the President on June 7, 1934. The statute had had a long and checkered history in Congress. Such legislation barely failed of enactment in the preceding session when Congress first gave to natural persons availing themselves of bankruptcy procedure the right to call themselves "debtors" rather than "bankrupts," and provided a substantially similar method of reorganization for railroad corporations engaged in interstate commerce. The present statute …

Effect Of Insolvency Proceedings On Creditor's Right To Interest, Fred T. Hanson

Michigan Law Review

Where the claims of all creditors are of the same class and. assets are insufficient to pay in full the amount due on all claims when insolvency proceedings are begun, the general rule is that interest thereafter accruing will not be included in computing dividends on claims. The reasons usually given for this rule are: (a) The delay in payment is not the act of the debtor but is an act of the law for the mutual benefit of all the creditors. (b) In the case of claims bearing different rates of interest, it would be inequitable to permit the …

Banks And Banking - Bank Collection Code - Preference For Certified Check On Drawee Bank's Insolvency

Michigan Law Review

The petitioner accompanied a bid on construction work with two certified checks drawn on the M Bank and payable to the government. On rejection of the bid the checks were returned, but in the meantime the drawee bank had been closed. The petitioner presented the checks to the receiver of the defunct bank who refused to honor them as preferred claims. An Illinois statute provided that when a bank has presented to it for payment an item drawn upon such bank, and such bank shall fail after having charged such item to the account of the drawer but without having …

Bankruptcy - Proof Of Claim For Loss Of Future Rents

Michigan Law Review

A covenant in a lease provided:

" . . . that the filing of any petition in bankruptcy or insolvency by or against the Lessee shall be deemed to constitute a breach of this lease, and thereupon, ipso facto and without entry or other action by the Lessor, this lease shall become and be terminated; and, . . . the Lessor shall forthwith upon such termination be entitled to recover damages for such breach in an amount equal to the amount of the rent reserved in this lease for the residue of the term hereof less the fair rental value …

Banks And Banking - Reorganization Under Enabling Statutes Requiring Less Than Unanimous Agreement - Effect On Special Deposits

Michigan Law Review

The plaintiff issued drafts to the defendant bank under a special agreement that they were to cover certain checks already cashed or to be cashed. When a balance of such drafts stood at $2,000 in favor of the plaintiff, the defendant bank became insolvent. A North Dakota statute provided that if eighty per cent of the deposit creditors agreed to a plan of reorganization, and such plan was approved by the state bank examiner and the secretary of the guarantee fund commission, it was to be held binding on all other unsecured creditors. Eighty per cent of the depositors of …

Bankruptcy - Proof Of Claims For Unaccrued Rent

Michigan Law Review

In the very recent case of Manhattan Properties, Inc. v. Irving Trust Co., the Supreme Court for the first time authoritatively passed on the validity of a claim in bankruptcy by a lessor against the bankrupt estate for loss of future rents due after the filing of the petition. The Court, affirming the decision of the Circuit Court of Appeals, ruled that the landlord's claim was not provable. Mr. Justice Roberts, delivering the opinion of the Court, reviewed the long history of litigation on the subject and was impressed by the fact that although the great majority of the …

Equity - Election Of Remedies - Proof Of Claim In Receivership

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff sold certain chattels under a conditional sales agreement to a partnership which later went into receivership. The purchase price not having been paid, plaintiff filed a general claim with the receiver, which was allowed. Six months later, no dividend having been paid, plaintiff filed a petition to have the general claim withdrawn and a preferred one substituted, based on the title-retaining contract. The court held that by filing and allowance of the general claim plaintiff made a final election between inconsistent remedies which barred rescission and restitution of the specific property. The court held that the inexperience of plaintiff's …

Bankruptcy - Fraudulent Transfers -Trustee's Assignee

Michigan Law Review

Since bankruptcy proceedings contemplate a sale of the debtor's assets, the importance of knowing what the trustee may sell is at once obvious. One must, however, go further and inquire as to the rights of purchasers from the trustee. This question assumes importance to the trustee, since it determines what he may sell, and is also important to the purchaser, since it determines what he may buy. The answer determines the efficiency of our bankruptcy machinery. In this comment we propose to consider one phase of this general question: May the trustee assign his right to set aside a fraudulent …

Bankruptcy - Disposition Of Surplus Assets

Michigan Law Review

The Virginia Oil & Refining Co., a Delaware corporation with all of its business in Texas, went into bankruptcy in 1923. In 1931 hitherto worthless property became valuable and it appeared that there would be a large surplus after all of the creditors were paid. Various receivers in both the state and federal courts of Delaware and Texas, representing groups claiming to be stockholders of the company (which had forfeited its charter) and others claiming to represent the company, sought control of the assets. The bankruptcy court appointed a receiver, to whom the trustee was to turn over the surplus, …

Contracts - Fraud - Implied Representation Of Solvency

Michigan Law Review

Defendant, a wholesale grocer, had been losing steadily for months by selling below cost, and had assets of $83,000 against liabilities of $140,000 on Nov. 21, 1929. On that date he accepted a 90-day trade acceptance drawn by claimant for cases of tomato paste which he had ordered, and which claimant now seeks to reclaim on the ground of fraud. On December 3 defendant obtained the goods, and the next day went into involuntary bankruptcy. Held, that the buyer's promise to pay implies belief in reasonable ability to pay, and that concealment of belief to the contrary is fraud …