creditor at large
Definitions from Case Law · United States Supreme Court
Definitions from Case Law
From 65 U.S. 352 - George Day Bowen Matlock Isaac Frothingham and George Warner v. William a Washburn and John a Keith · 1860Most cited · 41 citing opinions
The court of chancery does not give any specific lien to a creditor at large, against his debtor, further than he has acquired at law; for, as he did not trust the debtor on the faith of such lien, it would be unjust to give him a preference over other creditors, and thus defeat a pro rata distribution, which equity favors, unless prevented by the rules of law. It is only when he has obtained a judgment and execution in seeking to subject the property of his debtor in the hands of third persons, or to reach property not accessible to an execution, that a legal preference is acquired, which a court of chancery will enforce.
How often courts cite the case defining “creditor at large”
Court decisions citing the opinion that defined “creditor at large” — 41 in all, by decade. Counts are citations to the defining case as a whole, not verified uses of the term. The dip in the most recent years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the latest years.