Coppard v. Atascosa County State Bank of Jourdanton
Coppard v. Atascosa County State Bank of Jourdanton
Opinion of the Court
Hurley Mercantile Company, a partnership, became a voluntary bankrupt December 25, 1925, and thereafter the four partners, C. C. Hurley, W. M. Hurley, M. C. Hurley, and Felix M. Hurley, were adjudicated voluntary bankrupts in the same court, but each on a separate petition. M. Coppard was made trustee in each case. On April 27, 1931, he petitioned the court for an order of final distribution covering all the eases, having on hand in the partnership estate $3,311.84, with proven unsecured debts of $22,415.43 which included a note of $2,533.33 proven by Atascosa State Bank; in the estate of M. C. Hurley $2,939.09, with a proven claim of $2,533.33 in favor of said bank; and in the estate of C. C. Hurley $1,832.41, with proven claims of $12,729.68, including one of $2,533.33 proven by said bank. The bank in fact had but one note signed in the firm name only, but had proven it against each of the estates. The referee held that this debt was not entitled to a dividend from the C. C. Hurley estate along with his individual creditors, and was not entitled to anything as an individual debt of M. C. Hurley, but that the surplus in that estate should he transferred and added to the partnership estate for division among the partnership creditors including the bank. The District Judge reversed this ruling, holding the bank entitled to claim in all three estates and in consequence to have payment in full from the estate of M. C. Hurley. The trustee appealed under Bankr. Act, § 24 b, as amended by Act May 27, 1926, § 9 (11 USCA § 47 (b).
The bank has moved to dismiss the appeal because not taken in time. The order of the District Judge begins with a recital that the matter came on for hearing on October 24, 1931, but is not otherwise dated. It is indorsed by the clerk as filed November 6,1931. It does not appear whether the judge took the matter under advisement until the latter date, or why the judgment was not sooner-filed. The petition to this court for superintendence and revision was filed November 24, 1931. It refers to the judgment as rendered October 24th and filed for entry November 6th. Bankr. Act, § 24 e, as amended by Act May 27, 1926, § 9 (11 USCA § 47 (e), requires that such appeals be taken “within thirty days from the time the judgment is rendered or entered.” There being thirty-one days in October, November 24th is not within thirty days from October 24th, but is within thirty days from the filing date, November 6th. Strictly speaking, a judgment is rendered when finally published by the judge orally or in writing according to the practice of the court, and is entered when spread by the clerk upon the record or noted and filed among the papers of the court, according to its practice. 34 C. J. “Judgments,” § 175; 15 R. C. L. “Judgments,” § 11. Usually a judgment is considered as final and perfect so as to be appealable only when entered by
The referee’s ruling was right. It is true that each partner is individually liable for every partnership debt, but for purposes of bankruptcy the partnership with its property and debts is considered a separate entity from the partners with their several estates and creditors. The Bankruptcy Act requires them to be kept separate for administration, and that partnership assets be first applied to partnership debts, and individual assets to individual debts. Bankr. Act § 5 (11 USCA § 23). A partnership may be adjudicated a bankrupt without involving the adjudication of the partners. Liberty National Bank v. Bear, 276 U. S. 215, 48 S. Ct. 252, 72 L. Ed. 536. And a solvent partner not in bankruptcy may be required to hand over his net estate to the trustee of the partnership. Francis v. McNeal, Trustee, 228 U. S. 695, 33 S. Ct. 701, 57 L. Ed. 1029, L. R. A. 1915E, 706. Whether a debt be a partnership or individual debt depends on who got the benefit of it if there is not an express contract. Schall v. Camors, 251 U. S. 239, 40 S. Ct. 135, 64 L. Ed. 247. If there is an express contract, those persons "are liable who contract to be. Mitchell v. Hampel, 276 U. S. 299, 48 S. Ct. 308, 72 L. Ed. 582. The note here in question is the express contract of the firm alone, and is a partnership debt. It was properly proved as such. Although for some administrative purposes it may have been provable in the individual bankruptcies (see Wilkins v. Davis, Fed. Cas. No. 17,664; note to Loomis v. Wallblom, 69 L. R. A. 771), it is not, at least where the partnership is also in bankruptcy, entitled to dividends as an individual debt. This was held by this court in Schall v. Camors, 250 F. 6, 10 A. L. R. 846, affirmed, 251 U. S. 239, 40 S. Ct. 135, 64 L. Ed. 247. Any other holding would disregard the requirement of Bankr. Act § 5f, 11 USCA § 23 (f), that the net proceeds of the partnership property shall be appropriated to the payment of the partnership debts and the net proceeds of the individual estate of each partner to the payment of his individual debts. It would defeat the operation of the further requirement that any surplus remaining of the property of any partner after paying his individual debts shall be added to the partnership assets and be applied to the payment of the partnership debts. The referee’s order literally followed the directions of the stat
Judgment reversed.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- In re HURLEY MERCANTILE CO. COPPARD v. ATASCOSA COUNTY STATE BANK OF JOURDANTON, TEX.
- Cited By
- 1 case
- Status
- Published