Page:Federal Reporter, 1st Series, Volume 2.djvu/463

 456 FEDERAL REPORTER. �causes of action upon which the judgment of Sunderland v. Jacob G. Baker were had were witliout consideration. Whether the assignee is now in a position to present this objection to the judgment it is net necessary to determine, as the eri- ^dence establishes that the present defendant was a hona fide holder of each of them, having paid full value therefor. �It is also claimedthat William J. Sunderland, the plaintiiï, never existed; that he was a false and fictitious party; but these allegations are contradicted by the defendant's answer, which avers that she, through her counsel, transferred and delivered the notes to Sunderland, a citizen of New York, and as she is informed and believes, Sunderland afterwards brought said suit upon said notes in the circuit court of Maine. The record of the judgment establishes the existence of the plaintiff, prima facie, at least, and the testimony as to his name not being found on the New York directories for a num- ber of years is not sufficient to establish the contrary. That prior to the commencement of that suit a person claiming to be William J. Sunderland, of New York, did authorize the commencement of that suit, in his name, the court has no question, and it is equally clear that he had no interest in the claims thus to be coUected from these negotiable securi- ties, which were indorsed and transferred to him by Mrs. Baker, without any pecuniary or valuable consideration. His name was used to give the circuit court jurisdiction, and the only party beneficially interested in the claim was the respond- ent, Mrs. Baker, who received nothing for the transfer of these securities, and who still continued the equitable owner of them. �It is insisted that such proceedings were fraudulent, and that through this fraud the jurisdiction of the circuit court was obtained, which Mrs. Baker could not, in her own name, accomplish, and which was a fraud upon the law thus to pro- cure. As between the parties to that suit it is not apparent that the bankrupt was in any way injured by this proceeding. The demands would be subject to the same defence, whether the action was prosecuted by Mrs. Baker or by Sunderland, he having become the holder of them long after they had ����