

CONGRESS. (UNIFORM SYSTEM OF BANKRUPTCY.) 



203 



"SEC. 5G. Voters at meetings of creditors. a. 

 Creditors shall puss upon matters submitted to them 

 at their meetings by a majority vote in number and 

 amount of claims of all creditors whose claims have 

 been allowed and are present, except as herein 

 otherwise provided. 



' " b. Creditors holding claims which are secured 

 or have priority shall not, in respect to such claims, 

 be entitled to vote at creditors' meetings, nor shall 

 such claims be counted in computing either the 

 number of creditors or the amount of their claims, 

 unless the amounts of such claims exceed the values 

 of such securities or priorities, and then only for 

 such excess. 



" SEC. 57. Proof and allowance of claims. a. 

 Proof of claims shall consist of a statement under 

 oath, in writing, signed by a creditor setting forth 

 the claim, the consideration therefor, and whether 

 any, and, if so, what securities are held therefor, 

 and whether any, and, if so, what payments have 

 been made thereon, and that the sum claimed is 

 justly owing from the bankrupt to the creditor. 



" b. Whenever a claim is founded upon an instru- 

 ment of writing such instrument, unless Jost or de- 

 stroyed, -shall be filed with the proof of claim. If 

 such instrument is lost or destroyed, a statement of 

 such fact and of the circumstances of such loss or 

 destruction shall be filed under oath with the claim. 

 After the claim is allowed or disallowed such instru- 

 ment may be withdrawn by permission of the court 

 upon leaving a copy thereof on file with the claim. 



" c. Claims after being proved may, for the pur- 

 pose of allowance, be filed by the claimants in the 

 court where the proceedings are pending or before 

 the referee if the case has been referred. 



"d. Claims which have been duly proved shall be 

 allowed, upon receipt by or upon presentation to 

 the court, unless objection to their allowance shall 

 be made by parties in interest, or their consideration 

 be continued for cause by the court upon its own 

 motion. 



"e. Claims of secured creditors and those who 

 have priority may be allowed to enable such cred- 

 itors to participate in the proceedings at creditors' 

 meetings held prior to the determination of the 

 value of their securities or priorities, but shall be 

 allowed for such sums only as to the courts seem to 

 be owing over and above the value of their securi- 

 ties or priorities. 



"/. Objections to claims shall be heard and de- 

 termined as soon as the convenience of the court 

 and the best interests of the estates and the claim- 

 ants will permit. 



" g. The claims of creditors who have received 

 preferences shall not be allowed unless such cred- 

 itors shall surrender their preferences. 



" h. The value of securities held by secured cred- 

 itors shall be determined by converting the same 

 into money according to the terms of the agree- 

 ment pursuant to which such securities were deliv- 

 ered to such creditors or by such creditors and the 

 trustee, by agreement, arbitration, compromise, or 

 litigation, as the court may direct, and the amount 

 of such value shall be credited upon such claims ; 

 and a dividend shall be paid only on the unpaid 

 balance. 



"*'. Whenever a creditor, whose claims against a 

 bankrupt estate is secured by the individual under- 

 taking of any person, fails to prove such claim, such 

 person may do so in the creditor's name, and if he 

 discharge such undertaking in whole or in part he 

 shall be subrogated to that extent to the rights of 

 the creditor. 



"/ Debts owing to the United States, a State, a 

 county, a district, or a municipality as a penalty of 

 forfeiture shall not be allowed,- except for 'the 

 amount of the pecuniary loss sustained by the act, 



transaction, or proceeding out of which the penalty 

 of forfeiture arose, with reasonable and actual costs 

 occasioned thereby and such interest as may have 

 accrued thereon according to law. 



" k. Claims which have been allowed may be re- 

 considered for cause and reallowed or rejected in 

 whole or in part, according to the equities of the 

 case, before but not after the estate has been closed. 



" I. Whenever a claim shall have been reconsid- 

 ered and rejected, in whole or in part, upon which 

 a dividend has been paid, the trustee may recover 

 from the creditor the amount of the dividend re- 

 ceived upon the claim if rejected in whole, or the 

 proportional part thereof if rejected only in part. 



"m. The claim of any estate which is being ad- 

 ministered in bankruptcy against any like estate 

 may be proved by the trustee and allowed by the 

 court in the same manner and upon like terms as 

 the claims of other creditors. 



". Claims shall not be proved against a bank- 

 rupt estate subsequent to one year after the adjudi- 

 cation ; or if they are liquidated by litigation and 

 the final judgment therein is rendered within thirty 

 days before or after the expiration of such time, 

 then within sixty days after the rendition of such 

 judgment : Provided, That the right of infants and 

 insane persons without guardians, without notice of 

 the proceedings, may continue six months longer. 



"OEC. 58. Notices to creditors. a. Creditors 

 shall have at least ten days' notice. by mail to their 

 respective addresses as they appear" in the list of 

 creditors of the bankrupt, or as afterward filed with 

 the papers in the case by the creditors, unless they 

 waive notice in writing, of (1) all examinations of 

 the bankrupt ; (2) all hearings upon applications 

 for the confirmation of compositions or the dis- 

 charge of bankrupts; (3) all meetings of creditors; 

 (4) all proposed sales of property ; (5) the declaration 

 and time of payment of dividends ; (6) the filing of 

 the final accounts of the trustee, and the time when 

 and the place where they will be examined and 

 passed upon; (7) the proposed compromise of any 

 controversy ; and (8) the proposed dismissal of the 

 proceedings. 



" b. Notice to creditors of the first meeting shall 

 be published at least once and may be published 

 such number of additional times as the court may 

 direct ; the last publication shall be at least one 

 week prior to the date fixed for the meeting. Other 

 notices may be published as the court shall direct. 



" c. All notices shall be given by the referee, un- 

 less otherwise ordered by the judge. 



" SEC. 59. Who may file and dismiss petitions. 

 a. Any qualified person may file a petition to bead- 

 judged a voluntary bankrupt. 



" b. Three or more creditors who have provable 

 claims against any person which amount in the ag- 

 gregate, in excess of the value of securities held by 

 them, if any, to $500 or over, or if all of the credit- 

 ors of such person are less than twelve in number, 

 then one of such creditors whose claim equals such 

 amount may file a petition to have him adjudged a 

 bankrupt. 



"c. Petitions shall be filed in duplicate, one copy 

 for the clerk and one for service on the bankrupt. 



" d. If it be averred in the petition that the cred- 

 itors of the bankrupt are less than twelve in number, 

 and less than three creditors have joined as petition- 

 ers therein, and the answer avers the existence of a 

 larger number of creditors, there shall be filed with 

 the answer a list under oath of all the creditors, 

 with their addresses, and thereupon the court shall 

 cause all s,uch creditors to be notified of the pend- 

 ency of such petition and shall delay the hearing 

 uptm such petition for a reasonable time, to the end 

 that parties in interest shall have an opportunity to 

 be heard ; if, upon such hearing, it shall appear that 



