Ogden v. Saunders, 12 Wheat. (25 U.S.) 213 (1827), argued 18–20 Jan. 1827, decided 19 Feb. 1827 by vote of 4 to 3; majority justices by seriatim opinions, Marshall, Story, and Duvall in dissent. In this decision, a divided Supreme Court held that a New York insolvency law did not impair the obligation of contracts entered into after enactment of the statute, a question that had been left open in Sturges v. Crowninshield (1819), which had struck down a retroactive insolvency act. The majority justices agreed that contract rights were not absolute, that commerce required some kind of bankruptcy legislation, that the bankruptcy power conferred on Congress by Article I, section 8 of the Constitution was not exclusive, and that therefore the states had concurrent powers in the area. In dissent, Chief Justice John Marshall contended that the statute violated not only the Contracts Clause but also various nontextual vested rights of individuals. Ogden v. Saunders removed the Contracts Clause as an absolute bar to state insolvency legislation, an important achievement because Congress was unable to enact permanent bankruptcy legislation until 1898. Ogden was the only case where Chief Justice Marshall dissented in an important constitutional decision. On reargument, Justice William Johnson joined the original dissenters to make a new majority for the holding that a state insolvency statute could not be applied to an out‐of‐state creditor who had no contract with the forum state other than the original contract.

Richard E. Ellis

OGDEN V. SAUNDERS

OGDEN V. SAUNDERS, 12 Wheaton 213 (1827), a suit involving the constitutionality of many state bankruptcy laws, was brought before the U.S. Supreme Court by David Bayard Ogden, who sought a discharge in bankruptcy under New York legislation enacted in 1801. In March 1827 the Court by a close division (4 to 3) upheld the validity of the legislation in dispute but restricted its application to the state in which it was enacted. Chief Justice John Marshall gave his only dissenting opinion upon a constitutional question in this important, although not altogether popular, decision.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Warren, Charles. Bankruptcy in United States History. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1935.

Ray W.Irwin/a. r.

See alsoBankruptcy Laws ; Contract Clause ; Debt, Imprisonment for ; Fletcher v. Peck ; Sturges v. Crowninshield ; Supreme Court .