Collett v. Adams

Citations

• 249 U.S. 545
• 39 S. Ct. 372
• 63 L. Ed. 764
• 1919 U.S. LEXIS 2055

Syllabus

<p>Under the Bankruptcy Law, as amended in 1903 and 1910 [§§ 23b, 60b, and 2 (20), ] a suit by the trustee to set aside a transfer of property, as a preference voidable under § 60b, and to recover the property or its value, is cognizable by the District Court within whose district the property is situate, though not the court in which the bankruptcy proceeding is pending, and without regard to the consent of the defendant or the residence of the trustee, the bankrupt or the defendant. P. 547.</p> <p>In this respect, the jurisdiction is the same whether the suit is based^ on § 60b, or §§ 67e and 70e, as amended. Id.</p> <p>3uch a suit is local, in the sense of jud. Code, § 54, so that a defendant residing in another district of the same State may be served there with original process. P. 550.</p> <p>Such local suits, apart from the terms of the Bankruptcy Act, are excepted by § 51 of the Code from the general provision that a defendant may not be sued in any district other than that of which he is an inhabitant. Id.</p> <p>Jurisdiction of the District Court over a suit by a trustee in bankruptcy to set aside a transfer, held not affected by the pendency of' a prior action for damages brought by the transferee against the ■ bankrupt in a state court, which acquired no lien on the property. Id. . .</p> <p>The plaintiff’s claim, held to be sufficiently substantial to entitle him to a decision on the merits in the court below. Id.</p>