Moratorium

“ A collateral issue of statutory authority must be considered. The Commission supplemented its moratorium by prohibiting price increases that exceed the area maximum rates, if the increases are the products of certain varieties of contractual price escalation clauses. Unlike the more general moratorium upon filings under § 4 (d) , this proscription is without limit of time. The Commission's order is applicable to the most-favored-nation, spiral escalation, and redetermination clauses [46] that in 1961 it entirely forbade in contracts executed on or after April 3, 1961 ”

“ The letters of credit were usually drawn on London or Paris. In both cities a moratorium was on. Why not make the drafts directly on New York? Why not call on the signer of the letter of credit for the money instead of calling on the addressee? This would cut out any possibility of difficulty from the moratorium.
This also was a new method. But it seemed reasonable. We tried it. And it worked. A visiting committee of New York bankers to whom I related this experience later laughed immensely. They also made some remarks about "amateurs" and "audacity" which I would rather not repeat. ”

“ In fact, the consensus in the planning community appears to be that moratoria, or “interim development controls” as they are often called, are an essential tool of successful development. [33] Yet even the weak version of petitioners’ categorical rule would treat these interim measures as takings regardless of the good faith of the planners, the reasonable expectations of the landowners, or the actual impact of the moratorium on property values. ”

“ Individual producers would not have been prevented by the moratorium from seeking relief from the maximum area rates; relief would have been possible both through the Commission's provisions for special exemptions and through motions for modification or termination of the moratorium. This is not a case in which the Commission has sought to bind producers, without recourse and in the face of changing circumstances, to an unchanging rate structure. ”

“ No one seriously doubts that the land use regulations at issue rendered petitioners’ land unsusceptible of any economically beneficial use. This was true at the inception of the moratorium, and it remains true today. ”

“ I don't think the Moratorium was intended to work in this sort of way. I've got to report myself at the War Office, and I can't go. You may think you're acting as a good citizen should. You may not be hoarding gold or hoarding food, but you are hoarding me. ”

“ It is argued that only a short moratorium is needed. There are, however, fears that a short moratorium may be merely a prelude to new disasters, that what the company needs is a fundamental reorganization of its capital structure, so that its limited cash resources will not be dissipated in an effort to meet the demands for debt reduction. A question as to what is 'fair and equitable' between creditors and stockholders may eventually be reached in the reorganization. ”

“ The New York Court of Appeals, one judge dissenting, affirmed the trial court's judgment. 293 N.Y. 622, 59 N.E.2d 625. Upon claim duly made below that the Moratorium Law of 1943 was repugnant to the Contract Clause of the Constitution of the United States. Art. ”

“ No Government can face with equanimity a state of things in which large numbers of respectable tradesmen may be plunged into bankruptcy. In times of unusual depression, the Council’s intervention to prevent creditors from pressing their claims to the hilt was so frequent as to create the impression of something like an informal moratorium. ”

“ Petitioners fail to offer a persuasive explanation for why moratoria should be treated differently from ordinary permit delays. They contend that a permit applicant need only comply with certain specific requirements in order to receive one and can expect to develop at the end of the process, whereas there is nothing the landowner subject to a moratorium can do but wait, with no guarantee that a permit will be granted at the end of the process. ”

“ Section 75, sub. n, directs that the filing of the farmer-debtor's petitioner 'shall immediately subject the farmer and all his property * * * for all the purposes of this section, to the exclusive jurisdiction of the court, including * * * any equity or right in any such property, including, among others, contracts for purchase, Section 75, sub. o, provides an effective Section 75, sub. o, provides an effective moratorium, pending further proceedings, against the forfeiture of the debtor's interest in the property over which the court has jurisdiction. ”

“ In other cases an examination of the record has left the Court in doubt as to what has actually been determined. That is the situation in the present case.
The appellee points to the provision of section 1078 of the Civil Practice Act of New York (enacted long before the so-called moratorium acts) that, after final judgment for the plaintiff in a foreclosure action, no other action shall be maintained to recover any part of the mortgage debt without leave of the court in which the former action was brought. In the instant case the amended complaint does not allege that such leave was obtained. ”

“ Nor is this surprising in view of the fact that, as we have seen, such rights were foremost [Pg 360] in the minds of the framers of the clause. The court's attitude toward insolvency laws, redemption laws, exemption laws, appraisement laws and the like has always been that they may not be given retroactive operation; [1726] and the general lesson of these earlier cases is confirmed by the court's decisions between 1934 and 1945 in certain cases involving State moratorium statutes. In Home Building and Loan Association v. ”

“ No. 58. In 1941, the Legislature reflected some changes in economic conditions by requiring amortization of the principal at the rate of 1% per annum, beginning with July 1, 1942. The same legislature established another joint legislative committee to review once more the New York mortgage situation. 'After a most exhaustive study of the moratorium,' a report was submitted recommending its extension for another year. New York Legislative Document (1942) No. 45. The Governor of New York urged such legislation (New York Legislative Document (1943) No. ”

“ IV. On account of debtor's motion, requesting the running of the moratorium of three years from April 26, 1940, the day of his adjudication in bankruptcy under 75, sub. s, we do not consider the correctness of a stay of less than three years under other circumstances. In this instance it was correct.
Affirmed.
Notes
↑ The referee appointed by the District Court for handling agricultural compositions is known as a conciliation commissioner. § 75, subs. a-r. When the farmer seeks bankruptcy under sub. § the conciliation commissioner acts as referee. § 75, sub. § (4) , 49 Stat. ”

“ But while that may be true as a general doctrine, it cannot apply when a state has authorized and confirmed an assessment and a mortgage of it as security for bonds that the public is invited to buy, and has provided in terms for a collection by a receiver appointed in equity if there should be a default. There is no longer any legislative act to be done, and there is no usurpation of powers in following the course provided by state law. ”

“ Much of the difficulty in the application of the rule, arises from the nature of the principal act, especially, in cases where it is continuous, or extends for a considerable time, as in questions of domicile, or of bankruptcy; but there is no difficulty in applying the rule in cases where the principal act is single and well defined as to time, nor is there any well-considered case, which gives any countenance to the admission of such declarations, unless they were made at the time the principal act was done, or, as in the case of a riot, during the continuance of the transactions. ”

“ The inquiry is to be directed at the conclusiveness of the order releasing the guarantor from his obligation, assuming the Bankruptcy Court did not have jurisdiction of the subject matter of the order, the release in reorganization of a guarantor from his guaranty of the debtor's obligations. [8]
A court does not have the power, by judicial fiat, to extend its jurisdiction over matters beyond the scope of the authority granted to it by its creators. ”

“ Nor does a power to vary the remedy imply a power to impair the obligation derived from the act of the parties. (5.) That the history of the times justified this interpretation of the clause. The power of changing the relative situation of debtor and creditor, and of interfering with contracts, had been carried to such an excess by the state legislature, as to break in upon all the ordinary intercourse of society, and to destroy all private confidence. It was a great object to prevent for the future such mischievous measures. ”

“ And clarity of analysis justifies repetition that except where federal law, wholly apart from bankruptcy, has created obligations by the exercise of power granted to the federal government, a claim implies the existence of an obligation created by State law. If there was no valid claim before bankruptcy, there is no claim for a bankruptcy court either to recognize or to reject. ”

“ But in the second class, where the power does exist but has been abused, if the bonds passed into innocent hands for a valuable consideration, an obligation may rest upon the State to pay them, and it would be repudiation to refuse payment. States, as well as all other parties who act through agents, lawfully appointed and acting within the pale of their authority, are bound by the acts of such agents, even though they may be prejudicial to the interest of the party conferring the power to contract. ”

“ If a balance was found due to the state, it was made the duty of the comptroller-general to take the most effectual steps to recover it, by filing a certificate of the debt in the office of the prothonotary or clerk of the county court, and taking a warrant against the body, and distress against the goods, and if there were none, then a fieri facias against the debtor's lands. The act makes no express provision for non-approval of the settlement by the council. It gives neither appeal from the council, nor trial by jury to the debtor, and it does not make the settlement a lien. ”

“ We find nothing in the provisions of the Bankruptcy Act that makes it necessary or reasonable to extend the authority and jurisdiction of the referee beyond the ordinary administrative proceedings in bankruptcy and such controversial matters as arise therein and are in effect a part thereof, or to extend the authority of the referee under the general reference so as to include jurisdiction over an independent and plenary suit such as the one under consideration. ”

“ When the master can no longer insist that the servant shall do his duty, when the creditor cannot enforce payment by his debtor, when the public attach no great importance to the correctness of weights and measures, can it be said that nothing is imperiled but the authority of the law? ”

“ But, generally speaking, when we speak of the obligation of a contract, we include in the idea some known means acknowledged by the municipal law to enforce it. Where all such means are absolutely denied, the obligation of the contract is understood to be impaired, though it may not be completely annihilated. Rights may, indeed, exist without any present adequate correspondent remedies between private persons. Thus, a state may refuse to allow imprisonment for debt; and the debtor may have no property. ”

“ Whether the District Court has jurisdiction to grant any relief must be determined upon a consideration of the allegations of the bill and the amendment thereto. If there be enough of substance in them to require the court to hear and determine the cause, then jurisdiction should have been entertained. Looking to the allegation of the bill and the amendment, as we have stated them, it appears that the trustee invoked the aid of section 60b of the Bankruptcy Act, as amended by Act Feb. ”

“ The stipulation given by the plaintiff on the appeal to this court in a prior action brought to foreclose the mortgage is a bar to the recovery in this action. (2) The bond and mortgage having been given to indemnify bail in a criminal case, they are void, because contrary to public policy.'
The court of appeals ruled that the contention that the stipulation given on appeal to that court operated to prevent a recovery was 'without support in authority or reason' ”

“ But whether the statute which confers power to contract debts should always contain some limitation or restriction, or whether a general restriction applicable to all cases should be passed, and whether in the absence of both the grant of power to contract is wholly void, are questions whose solution we prefer to remit to the State courts, as in this case we find ample reason to sustain the demurrer on the second ground on which it is argued by counsel and sustained by the Circuit Court. ”

“ In the absence of such showing, it must be presumed that when Congress launched a governmental agency into the commercial world and endowed it with authority to 'sue or be sued', that agency is not less amenable to judicial process than a private enterprise under like circumstances would be.
Clearly the words 'sue and be sued' in their normal connotation embrace all civil process incident to the commencement or continuance of legal proceedings. Garnishment and attachment commonly are part and parcel of the process, provided by statute, for the collection of debts. ”

“ Being liable only on the administration bond, not being officers of the Probate Court, the only recourse against the sureties is by action at law against them, after the liability of the administrator has been ascertained by proper proceedings in that behalf, and after a final settlement by him, and a decree of the court fixing the amount of his liability, and directing him to pay it. ”