Farmers' & Mechanics' Bank v. Smith
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
Demurrer. THE defendant was sued as indorser of a promissory-note, which fell due in August, 1811. He pleaded in bar a certificate of discharge, under the act of assembly of this state, passed on the 13th March, 1812, entitled, “ An act for “the relief of insolvent debtors, residing in the city and “ county of Philadelphia, and their creditors.”
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Demurrer. THE defendant was sued as indorser of a promissory-note, which fell due in August, 1811. He pleaded in bar a certificate of discharge, under the act of assembly of this state, passed on the 13th March, 1812, entitled, “ An act for “the relief of insolvent debtors, residing in the city and “ county of Philadelphia, and their creditors.” To this plea the plaintiff demurred, assigning for cause of demurrer, 1st, that it was a law impairing contracts; 2d, that it was a bankrupt law, which the Congress of the United States, alone, can enact. The defendant joined in demurrer. This law was…
1Opinion of the Court
Tilghman C. J.
I agree with the counsel for the plaintiff, in considering the act of assembly, on which the question in this case arises, as a bankrupt act. Such, it certainly is, in its nature, although confined in its operation, to a particular part of the state. It has the leading features of a bankrupt law; the discharge from all debts, in consideration of the surrender of the property of the debtor; and it possesses the details usually found in bankrupt laws, for carrying the main design into effect. The validity of this law is contested, as violating the constitution of the United States…
2Cases cited2 opinions
- Boggs v. TeackleSupreme Court of Pennsylvania · 1812
- Penniman v. MeigsNew York Supreme Court · 1812
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