Hanover Nat. Bank v. Moyses, 186 U.S. 181 (1902) (No. 203)

Case name: Hanover Nat. Bank v. Moyses Opinion filed: 1902-06-02 Docket No.: 203 Citations: • 186 U.S. 181 • 22 S. Ct. 857 • 46 L. Ed. 1113 • 1902 U.S. LEXIS 885 Case holding summaries: • a statute is uniform “when the trustee takes in each state whatever would have been available to the creditor if the bankrupt[cy] law had not been passed.” • "The subject of `bankruptcies' includes the power to discharge the debtor from his contracts and legal liabilities, as well as to distribute his property. The grant to Congress involves the power to impair the obligation of contracts, and this the states were forbidden to do." • “The framers of the Constitution were famil- iar with Blackstone’s Commentaries, and with the bankrupt laws of England, yet they granted plenary power to Congress over the whole subject of ‘bankruptcies,’ and did not limit it by the language used.” • a statute is uniform “when the trustee takes in each state whatever would have been available to the creditor if the bankrupt[cy] law had not been passed.” • "The laws passed on the subject must * * * be uniform throughout the United States, but that uniformity is geographical and not personal * * *" • "The [Bankruptcy] grant to Congress involves the power to impair the obligation of contracts, and this the States were forbidden to do." • Bankruptcy Act of 1898 discharged plaintiff's 1892 judgment against debtor • "The subject of 'bankruptcies' includes the power to discharge the debtor from his contracts and legal liabilities, as well as to distribute his property. The grant to Congress involves the power to impair the obligation of contracts, and this the States were forbidden to do." • recognition in Bankruptcy Act of 1898 of state exemption law is valid