United States Supreme Court Cases & Opinions

U.S. Supreme Court

Cole v. Cunningham, 133 U.S. 107 (1890)

Cole v. Cunningham

No. 74

Submitted November 8, 1889

Decided January 20, 1890

133 U.S. 107

ERROR TO THE SUPREME JUDICIAL COURT

OF THE STATE OF MASSACHUSETTS

Syllabus

The Constitution of the United States, in proper cases, permits equity courts of one state to control persons within their jurisdiction from prosecuting suits in another state.

It is no violation of that provision of the Constitution of the United States which requires that full faith and credit shall be given in each state to the judicial proceedings of every other state if a court in one state (in which proceedings have been begun, under a general insolvent law of the state, to distribute the estate of an insolvent debtor among his creditors), enjoins a creditor of the insolvent (who is a citizen of the same state, and subject to the jurisdiction of the court) from proceeding to judgment and execution in a suit against the insolvent in another state begun by an attachment of his property there after knowledge of his embarrassment and actual insolvency, which property the insolvent law of the debtor's residence requires him to convey to his assignee in insolvency, for distribution with his other assets, there being nothing in the law or policy of the state in which the attachment is made opposed to those of the creditor and of the insolvent debtor.