In re Atwater
Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
Appeal from the District Court of the United States for the Southern District of New York. In the matter of Morton Atwater, Eliot Atwater; Gilbert F. Foote, and Harold W. Sherrill, individually and as copartners doing business as Atwater, Foote & Sherrill, bankrupts. On petition of Stephen G. Guernsey and others the claim of Edward S. Atwater was expunged, and claimant appeals.
1DissentWard, Circuit Judge
A release under seal cannot be contradicted by one party as against the other, or "as against a third party who has been prejudiced by relying upon it, as, for instance, in this case, against the Stock Exchange or Stock Exchange creditors for whose benefit the release was executed. But obviously both parties to a release may agree that between themselves it really meant something different from what it said. In this case, for instance, if there had been no bankruptcy, Eliot Atwater and his father, Edward S. Atwater, could have agreed that the release, though general was made for the benefit…
2Cases cited1 opinion
- Sterling v. . ChapinNew York Court of Appeals · 1906