Supreme Court Corner

By M. Jonathan Hayes, Certified Bankruptcy Specialist, Northridge, CA

Lewis v. Roberts, 267 U.S. 467 (1925)

Issue: Is a “judgment founded on a tort” a debt “provable in bankruptcy”?

Holding: Yes

Justice Edward Sanford

When Montevallo Mining Company filed bankruptcy, Lewis, a judgment creditor, filed a proof of claim which was supported by a pre-bankruptcy judgment he had received against the debtor for negligence. The referee disallowed the claim on the basis that “a judgment founded upon a tort was . . .

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