Malman v. United States

FRANK, Circuit Judge.

In our former opinion we said that, treating the United States as an “ordinary person,” it had a right of set-off, based on its claims against plaintiff’s client (Trimore), and that that set-off was superior to plaintiff’s claim as his client’s assignee. On rehearing, plaintiff directs us to New York decisions which, he asserts, hold that the lawyer’s statutory lien ranks ahead of such a right of set-off of an “ordinary person.” 1 We shall assume, without discussion, (1) that such is the New York ruling and (2) that such a ruling, involving “substantive rights,” will…