Page:Federal Reporter, 1st Series, Volume 3.djvu/504

 IN EB HOOLE. 497 �George A. Black, for petitioner. �F. A, Paddock, for respondent. �Choate, D. J. This is an application to the court to vacate an order entered in this proceeding on the twelfth day of April, 1877, whareby the assignee was authorized to surren- der to one Charles B. Larned three policies of life insurànce belonging to the estate, upon the release by said Larned of the alleged indebtedness as security for which Larned held the policies, under a pledge thereof made by the bankrupt before the filing of the petition in bankruptey, which indebt- edness was alleged to exceed the value of the securities about $350. �The order was entered upon the petition of the assignee, and the accompanying affidavit of Larned, setting forth the foUowing facts : That the petition in bankruptey was filed February 3, 1877 ; that May 1, 1876, the bankrupt was in- debted to Larned in the sum of $2,715.86 for money loaned; that Larned held, as security for this sum, the three policies for the amount, in ail, of $6,000, the present value of which was $2,531.89 ; ,that Larned was willing and desirous of ac- cepting the policies in fuU satisfaction of the debt, and agreed to release the bankrupt estate from ail claims and demands upon the transf er of the policies ; that the assignee believed this liquidation of the debt would greatly benefit the estate. �The petition was verified by the assignee, and aeoompanied by an affidavit of Larned to the truth of these facts. There- upon, and without any notice to creditors, or any further pro- ceeding, the court granted the application and the order was entered. �A creditor now moves to vacate the order on the ground that the estate was not in fact indebted to Larned ; that the debt for which the policies were pledged had been paid in full, and that he had no valid claim on the policies, but that they should be surrendered to the assignee as assets belong- ing to the estate. The petition to vacate the order was filed on the sixteenth of January, 1879. Upon an order to show cause thereon, Larned appeared, and put in an affidavit in answer to the petition denying that the debt had been paid, �v.3,no.9— 32 ����