[DOWNLOAD] "Terry v. Anderson" by United States Supreme Court ~ Book PDF Kindle ePub Free
eBook details
- Title: Terry v. Anderson
- Author : United States Supreme Court
- Release Date : January 01, 1877
- Genre: Law,Books,Professional & Technical,
- Pages : * pages
- Size : 56 KB
Description
In Terry v. Tubman, 92 U. S. 156, we decided that where the charter of a bank contained a provision binding the individual property of its stockholders for the ultimate redemption of its bills in proportion to the number of shares held by them respectively, the liability of the stockholder arose when the bank refused or ceased to redeem, and was notoriously insolvent; and that when such insolvency occurred prior to June 1, 1865, an action against a stockholder not commenced by Jan. 1, 1870, was barred by the Statute of Limitations of Georgia of March 16, 1869. That act, as recited in its preamble, was passed on account of the confusion that had 'grown out of the distracted condition of affairs during the late war,' and substantially barred suits upon all actions which accrued before the close of the war, if not commenced by the first day of January, 1870. This is a suit to enforce the liability of the stockholders of a bank, under a provision of the charter similar to that considered in Terry v. Tubman; and it is expressly averred in the bill that the bank stopped payment on the 20th of February, 1865, and never resumed. The affairs of the bank were closed up under an assignment made July 9, 1866, the proceeds of which paid only a small percentage upon its liabilities. The case is thus brought directly within our former ruling; but it is insisted that the act of 1869 is unconstitutional, because it impairs the obligation under which the complainants claim, and, as that question was not directly passed upon in the other case, we are asked to consider it now. The argument is, that as the statute of limitations in force when the liability of the defendants was incurred did not bar an action until the expiration of twenty years from the time the action accrued, a statute passed subsequently reducing the limitation impaired the contract, and was consequently void.