James Clark McReynolds

“ Does a discharge in bankruptcy acquit an express obligation of the principal to indemnify his surety against loss by reason of their joint bond, conditioned to secure his faithful performance of a building contract broken prior to the bankruptcy, when the surety paid the consequent damage thereafter? ”

“ Therefore said claim was not an unliquidated claim upon an express contract absolutely owing at the time. It was a contingent claim, and as such not provable, and therefore not affected by the bankrupt principal's discharge.'
If the doctrine announced by the court below and maintained here by counsel is correct, a discharge in bankruptcy may have very small value for the luckless debtor who has faithfully tried to secure his creditors against loss; and, in effect, a demand against him may be kept alive indefinitely, according to the interest or caprice of his surety. ”

“ It is the purpose of the bankrupt act to convert the assets of the bankrupt into cash for distribution among creditors, and then to relieve the honest debtor from the weight of oppressive indebtedness, and permit him to start afresh free from the obligations and responsibilities consequent upon business misfortunes. ”