Mathews v. Reinhardt

Citations

• 149 Ill. 635

Syllabus

<p>1. Ekauddlent conveyance—innocent purchaser. The frauds committed by a debtor upon his vendors and creditors, in which a purchaser from him did not participate and of which he had no notice, can not be shown for the purpose of defeating the title to the goods purchased by the latter.</p> <p>2. Before a sale of property can, as against the purchaser, be pronounced void on the ground of fraud, it must appear that he participated in, or at least had notice of, the fraud at the time he purchased, and in the absence of such proof, evidence of fraud by the seller alone is wholly immaterial.</p> <p>3. Same—fraud not presumed. In an action in which a sale of goods by a debtor is attacked as in fraud of creditors, the court instructed the jury that fraud pan not be presumed, but must be proved: Held, that the instruction announced a correct proposition of law as applied to the case, and that, it was not obnoxious to the objection that it must have been understood by the jury as holding that fraud must be proved by direct evidence, and not by circumstances.</p> <p>4. Where goods purchased were attached in the hands of the purchaser, on the ground that the sale was made in fraud of the rights of the creditors of the original vendor, the court instructed the jury, “that an attaching creditor can acquire, through his attachment, no higher or better right to the property or assets attached than the defendant in the attachment had when the attachment was issued, unless the said creditor can show fraud or collusion between the said defendant in attachment” and the purchaser, to injure or impair the rights of such creditor. There was no evidence charging the purchaser with notice of any fraudulent intent in making the sale: Held, that there was no error in the instruction.</p> <p>5. Same—notice of insolvency—whether notice of fraudulent intent of vendor. An insolvent debtor sold all his stock of goods to a brother-in-law in part payment of his debt to the latter, and the brother-