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3 U.S. 369

Emory v. Grenough

Supreme Court of the United States

Decided August 1, 1797

Supreme Court of the United States · decided 1797-08

<p>ERROR from the Circuit Court for the DiftricR of Mafia-chufetts.</p> <p>The Plaintiff in error was a native of Majfachufcits, formerly refident in Bojlon, where be contradled the debt in qucfiion to the Defendant in error, who was, alfo a native, and nad always continued a refident, of that ftate. Some years afterwards, the Plaintiff'in errror removed into Pennfylvania-, becaihe ai refident citizen of the ftate, took the benefit, of her bankrupt, law (. which, in its terms and operation, was analogous-to the bankrupt laws of- England) and duly obtained a certificate of'conformity from the c'ommiflioners.. Subfequent to this difi, charge, he returned, on a tranfient vifit, to'Bofion; and, being there arrefted by thq Defendant in error, for the old debt, he caufed the fuit to be removed from the State into the Circuit Court, and pleaded his certificate in bar to the adtion : but the court (confifting of Judge Iredell, and the Diftridf Judge) ever-ruled the plea, and gave judgment fór the Plaintiff below: whereupon the prefent wJit of error was brought.*</p> <p>Lewis and-E. Tilghman, for the Defendant in error.*</p>

1 counsel of record

Key passage — most relied on by later courts

“'By the courtesy of nations, whatever laws are carried into execution, within the limits of any government, are considered as having the same effect every where, so far as they do not occasion a prejudice to the rights of the other governments, or their citizens. * * * * *”

quoted by 2 later decisions, including Société Nationale Industrielle Aérospatiale v. United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa, Voda v. Cordis Corp.

““ ‘By the courtesy of nations, whatever laws are carried into execution, within the limits of any government, are considered as having the same effect every where, so far as they do not occasion a prejudice to the rights of the other governments, or their citizens. [Njothing would be more convenient in the promiscuous intercourse and practice of mankind, than that what was valid by the laws of one place, should be rendered of no effect elsewhere, by a diversity of law....”’ Ibid. (quoting 2 U. Huber, Praelectiones Juris Romani ethodiemi, bk. 1, tit. 3, pp. 26-31 (C. Thomas, L. Menke, & G. Gebauer eds. 1725)).”

quoted by 1 later decision, including Hobson v. Travelstead (In Re Travelstead)

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Petition denied / appeal dismissed · 6–0 · Decided 1797-08

How this case has been cited

Cited by 14 later decisions (3 by the Supreme Court) — most recently February 2007

4 federal appellate · 1 district · 4 state decisions

401797180018101820183018401850186018701880189019001910192019301940195019601970198019902000decided

Later decisions citing this case, by decade. The current decade is in progress, and our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so the latest bars are undercounted — not a real decline.

View the full empirical analysis of this case →

¶1ERROR from the Circuit Court for the DiftricR of Mafia-chufetts.

¶2The Plaintiff in error was a native of Majfachufcits, formerly refident in Bojlon, where be contradled the debt in qucfiion to the Defendant in error, who was, alfo a native, and nad always continued a refident, of that ftate. Some years afterwards, the Plaintiff'in errror removed into Pennfylvania-, becaihe ai refident citizen of the ftate, took the benefit, of her bankrupt, law (. which, in its terms and operation, was analogous-to the bankrupt laws of- England) and duly obtained a certificate of'conformity from the c'ommiflioners.. Subfequent to this difi, charge, he returned, on a tranfient vifit, to'Bofion; and, being there arrefted by thq Defendant in error, for the old debt, he caufed the fuit to be removed from the State into the Circuit Court, and pleaded his certificate in bar to the adtion : but the court (confifting of Judge Iredell, and the Diftridf Judge) ever-ruled the plea, and gave judgment fór the Plaintiff below: whereupon the prefent wJit of error was brought.*

¶3The argument of the caufe had been confiderably advanced, •when a contagious fever made its appearance again in.Pbila-' delfhia, and the bufinefs of the court was unavoidably* fufpend-ed. But at February Term,' 1797, the court having decided, *370in thecafeof Bingbamverfus Cabot, etal. thatinorderto fuftain the jurifdiéton of the Federal Courtj it mull be fet forth in the procefs, that the parties are citizens of different ftates ; and that form having been-omitted in the prefent fu.it, this and fe-veral other writs of error were {truck off the docket.

¶4Ingerfoll and Dallas,- for the Plaintiff in error.

¶5Lewis and-E. Tilghman, for the Defendant in error.*

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