United States Supreme Court Cases & Opinions

U.S. Supreme Court

Martin v. Commercial National Bank, 245 U.S. 513 (1918)

Martin v. Commercial National Bank of Macon, Georgia

No. 100

Argued December 19, 20, 1917

Decided January 14, 1918

245 U.S. 513

Syllabus

When the state law recognizes unrecorded chattel mortgages as valid between the parties, and merely postpones them to liens created and purchases made while they remain unrecorded (Georgia Code of 1910, 3260), delay of recordation until within four months before the initiation of bankruptcy proceedings against the mortgagor does not enable the trustee to assail such a mortgage as a preference as of the date of its recordation under § 60b of the Bankruptcy Act, as amended June 25, 1910, c. 412, 36 Stat. 838, 842, if he represents no lien on the property other than his lien under § 47a, arising subsequently.

Recordation is to be deemed "required" in the sense of the amendment when, through delay of it, a position superior to the challenged transfer has been gained, during the specified period, by some creditor whom the trustee represents or whose place he is entitled to take.

The mortgage in this case was given before the four months' period began, as security for money presently loaned in good faith, and was recorded the day before the petition was filed, when the mortgagee knew of the mortgagor's insolvency. Recordation was not fraudulently delayed, and, prior thereto, no other liens were filed upon the property.

228 F.6d 1 affirmed.

The case is stated in the opinion.

Page 245 U. S. 514