Supreme Court Corner

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

Wright v. Vinton Branch of Mountain Trust Bank of Roanoke, 300 U.S. 440 (1937)

Issue: 1. Did the amendments to the Frazier-Lemke Act cure the deficiencies cited by the Supreme Court in Louisville Joint Stock Land Bank v. Radford? 2. Do the rights of the debtor in a bankruptcy case amount to an unconstitutional taking prohibited by the Fifth Amendment?

Holding: 1. Yes. 2. No.

Justice Louis Brandeis

The debtor, a farmer, filed bankruptcy to stop a foreclosure on his farm. The bank immediately filed . . .

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