In Re Gurinsky

The appellee, the trustee in bankruptcy, contested the allowance against the estate of a bankrupt of appellant’s claim which was based on promissory notes signed by the bankrupt and secured by a chattel mortgage. The objection was that the notes had been given for money borrowed by the bankrupt upon 'his promise to pay the claimant interest at a usurious rate, and, therefore, the debt was unenforceable under New York law. The claim was disallowed on that ground and the claimant has appealed.

In New York, where the loans which created the debt were made and were to be repaid with interest, the…