Hanover Nat. Bank v. Moyses, 186 U.S. 181 (1902)

By Prof. M. Jonathan Hayes

Issue: Is the Bankruptcy Act of 1898 constitutional?

Holding: Yes.

Chief Justice Melville W. Fuller

Hanover Nat. Bank filed suit in District Court seeking to set aside the discharge of the debtor, Max Moyses, on the grounds that the bankruptcy act of 1898 was unconstitutional. The bank had three arguments, 1) the Act improperly permitted individuals, i.e., “non-traders” to file bankruptcy; 2) it improperly granted legislative powers to the states in the form of the exemption laws; and 3) it violated due process because it gave insufficient . . .

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