by John Marshall Harlan

“ Such transactions often take place in the ordinary course of business, when the debtor has no purpose, in the near future, of discontinuing business, or of going into bankruptcy and surrendering control of all his property. ”

“ If Alexander White, Jr., had made a formal assignment of his entire property in trust for the benefit, primarily or exclusively, of his mother, sisters, and brother, as creditors, its illegality would have been so apparent that other creditors would have been allowed to participate in the proceeds of sale. ”

“ In that case the members of an insolvent firm, in anticipation of bankruptcy, made, within a period of less than thirty days, four conveyances of their individual estate to near relatives, and various payments of money to other relatives, on alleged debts; after these conveyances and payments, and with full knowledge of impending failure, the members of the firm held a conference with their legal advisers before the expiration of said thirty days, respecting the measures to be adopted by them, and the shape their failure was to assume. ”

“ The trustee named in the assignment having refused to attack the preferences thus secured, a creditor brought suit in equity, upon the theory that the giving of the judgment notes and the making of the deed of assignment were parts of one transaction, and consequently the preferences attempted were illegal and void under the statute. ”

“ In respect to the amounts due from him to his mother, sisters, and brother, respectively, it is not necessary, at this time, to express any opinion, further than that the accounting in the probate court between them is not conclusive against the appellee. ”