Van Nostrand v. Carr

Bartol, C. J., delivered the opinion of the Court. We have no doubt of the jurisdiction of this Court to entertain the present appeal. By the Constitution of 1867, Article 4, section 14, it is provided that the jurisdiction of the Court of Appeals, shall be “ such as now is or may hereafter be prescribed by law.” The Act of 1865, ch. 91, declares that “any person interested may appeal from the decision of the Court, on any question arising under the insolvent law.” That Act remains unre-pealed. It has been argued by the appellees that the right of appeal in such ease is taken away by the 28 th section of .the 4th Article of the Constitution, which declares that “the ¹³¹ Court of Common Pleas shall have exclusive jurisdiction in all applications for the benefit of the Insolvent Laws of Maryland, and the supervision and control of the trustees thereof.” This provision, it has been contended, makes the decision of the Court of Common Pleas, in insolvent cases, final and conclusive.

But by reference to the 28th section, it appears very plain that such was not its intent. In that section several cases are enumerated, in which the jurisdiction of the several Courts in Baltimore city is made concurrent, and to distinguish from them cases in insolvency, it is provided that as to these the jurisdiction of the Court of Common Pleas shall be exclusive, and not concurrent with either the City Court, or the Superior Court. That section cannot be construed to make the judgment of the Court of Common Pleas final and conclusive, and to deny the right of appeal in the face of the express provisions of the Act of 1865, and the 14th section of the 4th Article of the Constitution, by which the right of appeal is expressly conferred and recognized. The appeal is from an order of the Court of Common Pleas, removing the trustee in insolvency, and dismissing the petition of the appellant as an insolvent debtor.

The Cpurt below proceeded upon the ground that the case of the appellant came within the provisions of the Bankrupt Law of the United States; and was exclusively within the jurisdiction of the Federal Courts, and that the Insolvent Court had no jurisdiction or power to entertain his application. The power to “establish uniform laws on the subject of bankruptcies throughout the United States,” is conferred upon Congress by the Constitution, Article 1, section 8; and it has been settled, by the decisions of the Supreme Court, that when this legislative power has been exercised, it is paramount and exclusive, and suspends the operation of the Insolvent Laws of a State, and the jurisdiction of the State Courts over cases falling within the purview and operation of the Bankrupt Law. Sturgis vs.